Wasted Plotential: Mortal Kombat (Original Timeline)
by Liu Gage
Summary: The4thSnake made some fascinating Wasted Plotential videos on the Mortal Kombat story and characters. Motivated by these, I decided to write a Wasted Plotential, on the Mortal Kombat Series as a Whole! We'll be taking this one at a time, including ideas from his series and my own as well, in order to create a lore and plot that shows how much more MK can be.
1. WP: Intro & Special Forces

My history of Mortal Kombat started with my brother and I playing MK3 on the SNES back in the day. To be honest, I never really got MK for a long while. I don't get why people liked the characters and story, and to this day I do not find the first four games to be fun to play. It wasn't until I watched the 4th snake's videos on the franchise that I gained a new love and appreciation for the series and the lore. While I don't enjoy playing most of them that much, though I do get a kick out of the Deadly Alliance games and MK11, the story and character potential that Snake has shown has opened up to me about how good the series can be. So I present to you:

Wasted Plotential: Mortal Kombat (Original Timeline)

I'll be combining most of the4thsnake's Wasted Plotential ideas about MK, as well as my own ideas, into a somewhat thorough storyline that the Original Timeline could have followed to make it truly the best fighting game story and lore ever. I admit, I'm a rookie writer. I'm sure what I'm going to write isn't absolutely perfect and there will probably be a few errors. I figured this would be some good practice, and why not do said practice on something I'm invested in.

This first chapter served as the introductory. Each game will be a separate chapter of varying length, depending on how much I can get. We will be going in chronological order, starting with Special Forces.

Mortal Kombat: Special Forces, was intended to be a prequel, set before even Mythologies: Sub-Zero. Mid-way through development, John Tobias and several of the game's developers left and the game suffered for it. Not only was it a piece of poo, but there ended up being a few inconsistencies with the franchise's continuity. Rather than making touch-ups to the existing plot, I'm going to come up with something entirely different. The idea for Special Forces is for it to feel like a crazy awesome '80s action movie. As a disclaimer, I'll never say my ideas are ideal. I'm certain there are many ways you could improve them and I'm just practicing writing. If you have any criticisms or ways to improve this idea, feel free to share them.

It's never been said when exactly Special Forces takes place, but for my version I'm going to say the story takes place six years prior to the events of MK1, putting the events in 1986 if we go off the common assumption that MK1 took place in 1992, based off details in Deadly Alliance. It's the beginning of the year, Jackson Briggs, a relatively new army officer, has just been promoted to First Lieutenant and is assigned to a U.S Special Forces unit that specializes in countering the Black Dragon, a notorious criminal gang that had been making a name for itself in the last few decades. They have experienced a rise in activity, thanks to Kano, who became their leader 5 years ago.

Jax himself, would look a bit younger than his MK2 incarnation, possibly having slightly longer hair and no facial hair. He would also have the complete version of his uniform seen in the MK2 prequel comic and no metal arms. He is significantly less muscular than he is in MK2.

Kano would largely resemble his MK1 design, but his right eye is still fully intact. He also views Jax as a rookie greenhorn who isn't worth his time.

Jax arrives at the Special Forces HQ in New York City, where he is shown around. He is partnered up with Beran. For those who don't know, Beran was established to be Jax's partner in the MK2 prequel comic who is killed by Mileena off-panel and is never mentioned again. We could have Beran be Jax's partner for the story and develop their relationship, giving his death more impact as well as creating some common ground for Jax and Sonya later on in the timeline. Maybe he also meets and befriends Jake, Sonya's partner from the MK1 prequel comic. Finally, he meets General Frank Marshall who set up this particular Special Forces unit decades ago.

As Jax is settling in, they get an alert on the radio that the Black Dragon is attacking a Museum in Upper Manhattan. Jax and the others are sent in, but there vehicle gets rammed and knocked over by the Black Dragon. Jax gets out of the van, and sees three members; Jarek, Tremor and No-Face. Jarek begins fighting Jax, but grows over confident and Jax takes him down. He rescues Beran and Jake from the van and the three head into museum. They make their way through, taking down some Black Dragon goons along the way. Eventually, they arrive at an exhibit of a priceless blue diamond, where Kano and Kabal are working on removing its case without tripping the alarm. They also have hostages, leading to a possible stealth segment where Jax has to carefully sneak up to them. He gets the jump on the two and tosses away their weapons. As the Special Forces prepare to cuff them, Tasia appears and knocks them away. Jax picks up Kabal's hook swords and uses them to fight Tasia, with Beran and Jake doing some possible backup like trying to shoot her to help do some damage etc. Jax manages to overcome Tasia, but while that fight was going on, Kano and Kabal successfully steal the diamond and activate a bomb to blow the museum sky high. Jax frees the hostages and tries to escape, only to be stopped by Tremor and some goons. They seem doomed, when Sonya Blade, Daniel Wexler, and NYPD officers show up and help them fight off the goons and escape just as the museum blows up.

Sonya at this point is an NYPD officer, possibly a rookie SWAT team member. Daniel his her partner, the one that Kano kills in the future. Sonya is shown to be a bit headstrong and impulsive, much like her incarnation in Defenders of the Realm, while Daniel is a mentor figure to her.

They retreat to the Police Station where Jax learns more about the Black Dragon. The conversation turns back to the Blue Diamond, known as a Jinsei Diamond. It's a mysterious diamond that was unearthed at a mine in China during the 1950s. Examinations reveal that there is strong power inside the jewel and, if harnessed correctly, could wield the power of 15 electrical power plants. Naturally, this could be pretty dangerous in the hands of evil like the Black Dragon and the Special Forces are ordered to retrieve it by any means necessary. The only problem is finding the Black Dragon, but Daniel reveals they have an HQ in an old abandoned Warehouse in the Bronx. Jax, Beran, Jake, and some SWAT officers make arrangements to raid the place, Sonya insisting that she go along but Daniel denies it until Jax convinces him.

They arrive at the Warehouse only to find it mostly empty and booby-trapped. Daniel discovers that their is a whole underground labyrinth beneath the warehouse, that the Black Dragon are no doubt hiding in. They split up and go into the two different entrances. They deal with traps, puzzles, and goons as Jax and Beran make their way to the heart of the Black Dragon underground. Jax and Beran reunite with Daniel and Sonya, and spots some goons alongside No-Face and Jarek heading down a hallway. As they chase after them, Jax hears the sounds of Kano and Kabal down another hall and decides to investigate. He overhears them talking about some sort of heist in Tokyo, but doesn't get to hear anything else as he is spotted by a goon. Jax knocks out the goon and takes the gun, trying to get Kano and Kabal to stand down. Kabal just wrestles the gun away from Jax with his hook sword and the two fight, Jax just narrowly winning with some nasty injuries. Jax attempt to fight Kano afterwards, but loses due to a combination of his previously mentioned injuries and his inexperience compared to Kano's. Kano is about to kill him with his knife, when Daniel suddenly shows up and shoots Kano in the arm. Kano grabs data from his Computer and Kabal, then disappears through a hidden door. Sonya and Beran join back up, with Jax telling them all he heard. As they make their way out, they learn that the Black Dragon as also rigged this place to blow, and the explosion would take out 6 blocks. Jax, Beran, Sonya, and Daniel radio the others about the situation as they go and try to stop the bomb. They end up being attacked by No-Face and Jarek, the former fighting Jax and the latter fighting Sonya while Beran and Daniel go to find the bomb. Jax just barely defeats No-Face and manages to punch out Jarek after he defeated Sonya, just before he finally collapses due to his injuries. Meanwhile, Daniel finds and disables the bomb with Beran's help. No-Face and Jarek escape while Sonya tries to tend to Jax's wounds.

Jax is taken to the Hospital alongside his friends and shares a room with Sonya. The two bond and help develop their future friendship. We also learn here that Jax has a girlfriend named Vera, based off a character mentioned in the X and 11.

A couple of days later, Jax returns to his apartment and we get a scene where he establish some of his and Vera's past and show the two's love for one another.

Heading back to the Special Forces HQ, a member codenamed Gemini, discovers the Black Dragon's plan from Jax's report. There's a huge lab facility in Tokyo called "Riken" that is currently developing some sort of power generator, unlike any the world has seen. The reason they think the Black Dragon is going there is because if the specs they have are accurate, this generator would be strong enough to contain the Jinsei Gem's energy and possibly use it to power whatever they had in mind. He assigns Jax, Beran, Jake, Sparky (a Special Forces member briefly seen in the MK1 prequel comic), and some other soldiers to the mission. Daniel and Sonya want to go, but Marshall denies them for obvious reasons. Jax tries to convince him since Daniel saved his life, but is rejected.

Jax goes back to his apartment, where he discusses the whole thing with Vera, when Sonya and Daniel arrive. The two also express their wish to help, and they talk for a bit, have some character building. Eventually, Jax gets an idea.

The Special Forces officers take a plane to Tokyo, where it is revealed that Jax had Sonya and Daniel stowed away on the plane. Beran points out what they did is highly against orders and that they'll probably be court martialed, but Jax just tells him to shut his yap and for them to get going to Riken. It then cuts to show the Black Dragon gang preparing to raid on the facility.

Jax and crew arrive to find the front gate destroyed and a Black Dragon calling card left behind. They enter the front lobby where they find the dead bodies of several Riken employees. The group splits off. Jax, Beran and some soldiers go check out the East Wing, Sonya, Daniel and another band of soldiers go check the West Wing, Sparky, Jake and the rest go check the North Wing. Jax discovers an elevator leading to the secret underground labs which are littered with traps, some from Riken while others were clearly set up by the Black Dragon. They end up being ambushed by a whole squad of Black Dragon goons, led by No-Face and Tremor. The latter climbs a ladder, onto a catwalk, begins launching shots from above. Jax climbs up to pursue and chases him into another room. He radios the others about what's happening, but Tremor shoots the radio out of his hand, which falls into a vat of acid below. Jax fires his gun at Tremor, who dodges and blocks all the shots with his armor. The two fight hand-to-hand, which ends with Jax uppercutting Tremor off the catwalk and into a vat of acid, to his apparent death. He returns to the other room and saves Beran from getting burned by No-Face. Beran takes down No-Face by shooting a bullet right into the nozzle of his flamethrower, causing it to go haywire and explode, severely wounding No-Face, but he manages to survive while another Special Forces officer cuffs him. The soldiers continue the fight, while Jax and Beran continue further through the labs. Most of it is ransacked and in disrepair thanks to the BD's rampage. They arrive in the room with the generator, only to find it wrapped up. All of a sudden, a hole is blown in the ceiling and a helicopter picks up the Generator while Tasia and Jarek jump down from the Helicopter. Jax questions them on their plans, only for Tasia to say something cryptic about Russia. Jax and Beran prepare to fight.

Meanwhile, Daniel, Sonya, and the others have just entered the underground labs and are sneaking about. They are attacked by goons led by Kabal, and Daniel ends up getting hit in the shoulder by one of his swords, and he flees into a hall to avoid further damage and to tend to his wounds. Daniel suddenly hears the voice of Jax and Beran, and investigates. He follows the voice into a room, where he is suddenly ambushed by Kano. The two engage in a fist fight.

Jax defeats Tasia, who tries to throw her sword at him in desperation. Jax avoids it and roundhouse kicks Tasia, sending her flying into an electrical conductor which fries her. The helicopter takes off and Jarek throws a knife into Beran's leg, and grabs onto the generator, taking off with it. Jax helps Beran and is radioed by Sonya, who informs of the situation. Beran tells Jax to leave him for now and help them, which Jax obliges albeit reluctantly. Sonya realizes Daniel isn't here and goes looking for him, eventually hearing his and Kano's fight. She arrives just to find Daniel having lost and Kano holding up with a knife to his throat. Sonya points her gun at him and orders Kano to put the knife down. He refuses, unless Sonya lets him leave quietly. He muses about he'd hope to catch the bigwig soldiers, but the guy who fed some lead into his arm will do. Daniel tells Sonya to just shoot him, but Kano says that he has observed her. He can cut Daniel's throat faster than she can pull the trigger, to which Daniel responds that he is just bluffing, which Kano counters that if Sonya wants to find out, then just try. Toss the gun, let him leave, and he'll let the boy go.

A standoff for several minutes ensue, eventually Sonya decides to drop the gun let Kano go. He drags Daniel with him to the door, but then Kano says some sort of clever quip to Sonya before slashing Daniel's neck, killing him instantly. Sonya screams, which Jax hears and runs over just to see Kano flee. He finds Sonya crying over Daniel, Jax puts his hand on her shoulder and quietly comforts her.

A bit later, at Daniel Wexler's funeral being held by the NYPD. Despite his questionable actions, the NYPD has nothing but respect for him and his service. Sonya talks to Jax and Vera, where he learned more about Daniel and Sonya's history, possibly implying that she had feelings for him. Sonya expresses to Jax how she wants to get revenge on Kano, which Jax states that he'll get by any means necessary, feeling guilty since he brought Daniel along when he wasn't supposed to, which led to his death. Jax thinks he's just a weakling, and realizes he needs to shape up if he plans on fighting Kano. We also learn that Jax has been placed on 6-month temporary leave by Frank Marshall for his actions.

6 months pass, as the Special Forces haven't found any lead on where the Black Dragon took the generator or what they plan on doing with that and the gem. They are at a lost, when Sparky comes in and turns on the TV. Turns out Jarek was spotted in Moscow, which makes Beran recall that Tasia had said something cryptically about Russia during their encounter at Riken. They do some research, and after a few days, they realize what they could be after is a secret weapons factory in the vast rural wastes of Eastern Russia, where a new super weapon is reportedly being developed by the U.S.S.R. They begin making preparations when Jax returns, having been caught up to speed by Beran. We also see how much Jax's last half year of training has done, as he seems much closer to his MK2 build but not quite there yet. Jax request that Marshall let him join the mission, but Marshall refuses calling Jax disobedient and a maverick. Jax implores him to let him go, saying he can't rest, Sonya can't rest, until Daniel's death is avenged. Marshall thinks it over and recalls his own experiences during his military career, recounting a tale from a similar situation that happened during a war he fought in. He knows revenge is a hollow pursuit, but Jax will never rest without finding out for himself so Marshall gives Jax his blessing and welcomes him back to the force.

We then cut to a hideout in Moscow where we see a russian broadcast of the Jarek story from earlier. Kano slaps Jarek for possibly alerting the Special Forces to their whereabouts. They've been waiting for a long while for their plans to be ready to take place, and Jarek possibly went and ruined everything. To make matters worse, he's a bit concerned due to the deaths of two of his greatest warriors, Tasia and Tremor as well as the arrest of No-Face. Jarek and Kabal reassure him, which Kano ignores. He already sent some goons to free No-Face and begins making their move towards the weapons factory.

Jax and the others are flying towards the Weapons Factory, only for the helicopter to be shot down by Black Dragon goons with a bazooka. Jax, Beran, Sparky, and Jake manage to escape and are the sole survivors so they are the only ones that can stop them. The problem is that the area is heavily patrolled and most of their weapons were taken by the helicopter's destruction. The four have to sneak through the wastes and reach the weapons factory undetected, which they do of course. As they make their way through the weapons factory, they mind a man hiding in a locker room, Dr. Fyodor Mikhailov. He explained the super weapon was some sort of laser cannon that they were developing under orders from their boss, and the Black Dragon attacked a day ago. To prevent them from stealing the weapon they destroyed their sole prototype. Now, they have rounded up and tortured the other scientists in order to get them to give up the blueprints and research notes on the weapon so they can build one themselves. Fyodor gives them ID Cards and codes so that they can reach and take down the Black Dragon. The four divert to grab some weapons to deal with the crooks and eventually reach the room where Kabal, Jarek, and some goons are interrogating the scientists. Beran shoots Kabal in the leg and a fight breaks out, with the scientists also joining in. Jarek flees while Kabal leads the other goons against the four. Despite their strengths and weapons, the four are overwhelmed by the goons and forced to retreat. They reach an intersection in the halls, and Jax tells Sparky and Jake to head down one way to distract them while him and Beran go try and find Kano.

Jarek arrives to Kano and his other goons, informing them of the four. Kano is ready to flee until he learns that there are only FOUR special forces soldiers here and decides to let them come and feel the taste of defeat.

Jax and Beran find themselves in a room containing tanks and other big-scaled weapons. No-Face sneaks up behind them, having been freed a while ago by the Black Dragon, and Jax just barely gets him and Beran out of range of his flamethrower in time. Meanwhile, Jarek is piloting a tank and trying to shoot at them. Jax calls him an insane idiot, but Jarek just keeps firing. Beran goes to work on opening the door at the other end of the room, while Jax tries to fight off No-Face while dodging Jarek's fire. Jax defeats No-Face, grabs his nozzle and fires his own flamethrower at this face. He then picks up No-Face and throws him at the treads of the tank Jarek is piloting, causing him to get run over and killed. Jax jumps on the tank, opens the hatch, and pulls Jarek out. Jarek comments on how Jax has gotten much stronger, and Jax one-liners him before knocking him out and tossing him to the ground. Beran and Jax head through the door to find Kano, who just got the notes and blueprints he needs. Jax fights Kano and manages to narrowly defeat him. Kano compliments Jax on his improved fighting, but says that'll be worthless once his plans come to fruition. He throws a smoke bomb, him and the goons having completely disappeared. Jax throws a bit of a tantrum at Kano escaping, yet again. Then an alarm goes off as the self-destruct is activated, leaving only 15 minutes for them to get out. Jax and Beran inform Sparky and Jake of the situation. They escape, grabbing Fyodor Mikhailov and making it out as the place blows up, leaving Fyodor the sole survivor of the workers their. The group make their way to the shores of the East Siberian Sea, where they are picked up by a United States submarine.

A week later, they return to the Special Forces HQ where Fyodor elaborates more on the laser project. Jax realizes that if Kano can re-create the device, the power of the gem will make the weapon an invincible killing machine that he could use to take over the world. The generator he stole needed to properly contain the Jinsei energy and power the weapon. It is now imperative that they find where they are building the machine and stop them once and for all.

As they work that out, Jax spends the next several days continue his training. He is jogging through Central Park, thinking about the whole ordeal when his thoughts remind him of Sonya. He finds out the location of Sonya's apartment from her friends on the NYPD and visits. When he arrives he discovers Sonya has left for Fort Drum and the tenant gives Jax a package that Sonya had asked for him to mail. He takes it home and opens it, containing a picture of Sonya in military garb and a letter. Jax and Vera read the letter, narrated by Sonya's voice of course. We learn that Sonya could not stop thinking about Daniel's death and her lust for revenge on the Black Dragon and Kano. She quit her job at the NYPD and has joined the army, where she'll train to become the strongest soldier. Maybe a line about how she never expected to follow in her father's footsteps and we close the letter with Sonya wishing to join the Special Forces in the future. Jax and Vera talk about it for a bit, before Jax reaffirms to Sonya that he will take down Kano.

Not long after, the Special Forces receive a transmission from Xavier Stone, an undercover agent among the Black Dragon's ranks. He informs that the Black Dragon have take refuge in a castle in Eastern Europe, where they are constructing the weapon. Before he can confirm exactly where they are, the transmission is suddenly cut short. Gemini believes it was just an issue on his end, but it's revealed to the audience that he was discovered and killed by Kabal.

This time, the Special Forces are pulling no punches. Jax, Beran, Sparky, and Jake load up, they are calling in soldiers from all positions in the army. They are heading to Eastern Europe and will stop Kano's dastardly plan. When Gemini questions where exactly in Eastern Europe could Kano be hiding in a castle, Jax decides he knows where to go on a hunch.

We then cut to Transylvania. As Jax states, castle, Eastern Europe, seemed like the obvious choice for a villain like Kano. They come across a small village that had been raided by the Black Dragon, confirming Jax's suspicion. They head towards the castle where they are greeted by an army of Black Dragon goons leading to a big fight. Jax and Beran fight their way through to reach the castle and are almost gunned down, but are saved by Sonya, now in her MK1 attire. Turns out that she wasn't supposed to come, due to still being in training, but her father pulled some strings. Jax doesn't want Sonya to come help them bust Kano due to her inexperience, but Sonya forces herself along. They make their way through the castle and come face to face with Kabal one last time. The three defeat Kabal, who makes one last super-speed dash at Jax. He gotcha grabs Kabal out of it, before tossing him out the window.

Meanwhile, the weapon is almost complete. Jarek warns that they are suffering heavy casualties, but Kano assures him that once this is finished they'll never have to worry about anything as petty as a "army" ever again.

The three make their way through the castle and are ambushed and attacked by Tremor! He now resembles his MKX design, much to Jax's shock and wonder on how he survived the acid bath. Other than a vague claim of "awakening powers", the answer will be left hanging for a future title. The three fight Tremor, who's new powers overwhelm the heroes. Having enough, Jax summons his first Energy Wave and knocks out Tremor. Jax is shocked that he was able to do that, and displays the ability multiple times to make sure he wasn't just imagining it. When Beran and Sonya question it, Jax just assumes he also "awakened powers" and that they can find it out later.

Jarek is convinced Kano is crazy and decides to abandon the castle, but not before looting some money from his vault. He encounters Kabal, who survived thanks to using his hook swords to slow his fall. Jarek convinces him to hightail it and the two flee the castle through a back exit.

The three finally reach Kano and the weapon. Kano shows it off by shooting a laser at the battle outside, creating a huge explosion leaving a massive crater. Jax points out how he likely just killed a bunch of his fellow Black Dragon, but Kano brushes it off with saying that's the price of victory. He then turns down the power, so that no explosion will go off, but the laser will disintegrate them in one hit. The three dodge around the lasers and Beran notices that the generator is making strange noises. Jax radios Gemini and asks for her opinion and she believes that either Kano did not make it properly or he is overloading it. Either way, this will cause an explosion that will destroy everything in a 500-mile radius unless it is stopped. Sonya and Beran distract Kano who's repeated missed shots are catching the castle on fire and starting to make it crumble. Jax reaches Kano and knocks him out of the weapon's controls and the two get in a brawl. Sonya shuts off the weapon and generator, allowing Beran to open it and remove the Jinsei Gem. Despite stopping it, the castle is still going to collapse due to Kano's cavalier firing. Jax tells the two to escape while him and Kano fight. Kano taunts Jax a bunch, calling him nothing more than a weak rookie who could never beat a crime boss like him. He kicks Jax's butt and it seems like he is going to finish Jax off. Only for Jax to shoot an energy wave at his face, temporarily blinding him. Jax grabs his head and, with his raw strength and anger at all Kano has done, disfigures the right side of his face and the eye, before punching him through a wall. Kano falls to his apparent death.

We then cut to Sonya and Beran with the surviving soldiers, safely away from the castle which then collapses. Jax is believed to have perished, only for him to show up, severely injured. He falls to the ground, exclaims "We won." before passing out.

Sometime later, Jax is in the hospital in casts and bandages. He is visited by Beran and Sonya who commend him for his efforts. Jax is just glad that Kano is dead and that'll be the last of the Black Dragon, hopefully. Vera walks in and the two have a heartwarming scene together, ending with Jax proposing to her.

We then cut to an awards ceremony in Washington D.C. Here, Jax, Beran, Sparky, Jake, and Sonya are presented medals for their actions. As a small detail, Jax and Vera here can be seen with wedding rings on. Jax gives a rousing speech and ends with a massive cheer from the crowd.

After the credits, we have one final scene. We're in the seedy underbelly of Chicago, a year later. Jarek, Tremor, and Kabal are hanging out together in some sort of den with other Black Dragon stooges. Turns out they've been meeting to bring back the Black Dragon, but have disagreements over who should lead. All of a sudden, a figure enters who mentions they had been tipped off about their whereabouts. It's revealed to be Kano, obviously having survived the fall and now sports his iconic metal plate and cybernetic eye.

We could possibly have an unlockable montage showing the next few years in between that scene, leading into the events shown in the MK1 prequel comic, as a fun little extra.

This version isn't perfect, there's a lot you could improve on. For Special Forces, I wanted to make it a proper prequel and showing Jax's journey to the man he becomes by MK2, rather whatever the actual game goes for. We get to see Jax's first encounter with Kano, how he disfigures him, actually see and learn about Sonya's partner, and his death. I found these aspects really interesting and it's a shame we didn't get proper media exploring these.

The next Wasted Plotential Chapter will be on MK1! Look forward to that in the near future, I got a lot of ideas for that and I hope you enjoyed this attempt at making my own version of Special Forces!


	2. Wasted Plotential: Mythologies- Sub-Zero

**WELCOME TO "WASTED PLOTENTIAL: Mythologies- Sub-Zero"**

Yeah, I made a mistake in regards to the Special Forces Wasted Plotential. I said at the end _MK1_ would be next, but it completely slipped my mind that _Mythologies: Sub-Zero_ was next chronologically. So we'll be tackling that next, but _MK1_ will come afterwards so don't worry.

I should mention that not all of these Wasted Plotentials will be as long as something like the Special Forces one. This mainly because sometimes I can't come with as much stuff as other games. I will also be calling Sub-Zero, Bi-Han for clarity and because of something you'll see further down the line. As a side note, some plot points are taken from the Mythologies website which had some additional details that weren't in the actual game. But enough, let's move on to this Wasted Plotential.

Millions of years ago, before humanity's ancestors, the Earth was inhabited by the Saurians. They lived peacefully under the protection of the gods and the Elder Gods of the MK universe. Eventually, the realm of Earth came under the guard of Raiden, a young arrogant and naive thunder god who had taken the position from his mentor.

But this time of peace would not last long. Elder God Shinnok had grown a lust for power and began mastering the forbidden magic of the Netherrealm, the equivalent of Hell in the MK universe. He found a powerful amulet and used it to weaken the dimensional barriers between realms and invaded Earth with an army of demons. Raiden fought a long and bloody war against the fallen Elder God, which the destructiveness of lead to the death of the Saurian civilization. With the help of the lesser gods and the Elder Gods, Raiden would defeat Shinnok, take away his amulet and imprison him in the Netherrealm. The Saurians who survived the conflict fled to start a new life in another realm, leaving Earth in a dark and grim era until the arrival of humanity.

Shinnok would spend millions of years trapped in the deepest levels of the Netherrealm, tortured by Lucifer. This went on until the 15th century, when a man by the name of Quan Chi entered the realm. Quan Chi was a free-roaming sorcerer who could travel between realms undetected. He was a master of black magic and had been a known trickster across the realms. He stumbled upon Shinnok, battered and wounded, having just briefly escaped from Lucifer's torture. Quan Chi agreed to help Shinnok defeat Lucifer, if he made him his right hand man. He helped restore Shinnok to health and the two were able to narrowly defeat Lucifer and imprisoned him in the darkest corner of the realm. Shinnok became ruler of the Netherrealm, with Quan Chi as his advisor and sorcerer. Over time however, Shinnok would grow tired of ruling just the Netherrealm and yearn for escape from this cursed hellhole. Quan Chi searched the realms for an answer, but his ventures were fruitless.

In 1985, Quan Chi had just about given up hope to free Shinnok when he was approached by an old man. It was Shang Tsung, a sorcerer in his own right and could travel between realms just as freely as Quan Chi. He was taken to meet Shinnok, where he explained himself. Several millennia ago, Emperor Shao Kahn of Outworld conquered the realm of Edenia and merged it. He took Queen Sindel as his bride, but she could not stand the idea of being with to him and took her own life. In a fit of anger, Shao took her soul, but eventually realized how he could use this to his advantage. That's when Shang Tsung makes an offer. Shinnok will help resurrect Sindel, an event that would take a decade to accomplish, taint her with evil, and revive her on Earth. This would allow a loophole to take place, allowing Shao Kahn to travel to Earth to retrieve her. Quan Chi questions what's in it for them, which Shang Tsung elaborates. After the Great Kung Lao's death at the hands of Goro, he took his soul and gained his knowledge. He learned of a map in the Shaolin Temples, that is the key to finding Shinnok's amulet. Shinnok agrees on the spot, since the amulet would allow him to finally escape his confines in the Netherrealm. He begins preparing the resurrection of Sindel, while Quan Chi goes to find the map. He is unsuccessful in his mission, learning in the process that the keys needed to find the amulet are guarded by the Elementals. These alone make it impossible for Quan Chi to complete his mission, but he assures Shinnok that one day they will find someone who can do it, but whoever could they find who would be up to the task?

They would eventually find their answer in the Lin Kuei Assassin Bi-Han, codenamed Sub-Zero. Bi-Han was born in America, with two siblings, a younger brother and a younger sister. Their Dad lived in America as a front for his Lin Kuei jobs, which their mom detested. Father wanted the boys to follow in his footsteps and become Lin Kuei, which the mother refused. She tried to take the children and run away into hiding from the father, but he found out and took the two boys, Bi-Han and Kuai Liang, with him back to China. The whereabouts of the mother and sister are currently unknown.

The two were taken to the hidden Lin Kuei Temples in the mountains of Northern China, where they begun their assassin training. As a young adult, Bi-Han discovered his ice powers which him and Kuai Liang had inherited from their father. Bi-Han's skills improved faster then anyone else, soon becoming the Lin Kuei's top assassin. After his father retired, the Lin Kuei Grandmasters made Bi-Han take the mantle of Sub-Zero. Kuai Liang, who was a few years younger then Bi-Han, would later be granted the title of Tundra. The two, especially Bi-Han, would pull of several infamous assassinations across the world for several years.

In 1990, 2 years before the events of _MK1_, Bi-Han was sent by the Grandmasters to retrieve an ancient map from the Shaolin Temples. He successfully infiltrated the temples, entering the sacred room with the map. He was stopped by Master Wu, Liu Kang and Kung Lao's first teacher, whom Bi-Han easily defeats. He grabs the map, only for it to be pulled out of his hands by some sort of spear. Said spear belongs to Hanzo Hasashi, codenamed Scorpion. He's been a enemy of Bi-Han for many years, he's a member of a Japanese ninja clan called the Shirai Ryu who have been rivals of the Lin Kuei for centuries. Scorpion reveals that he had been hired by the same man as Bi-Han to retrieve the map. Bi-Han defeats Scorpion, and unlike the game, killing him is not optional. Bi-Han takes the map from Scorpion, who pleads for his life. The assassin says that begging for his life after being defeated fair and square is dishonorable to him and his people, right before ripping of Scorpion's head.

Bi-Han returns to the Lin Kuei Temples and is congratulated by the Grandmasters. Quan Chi shows up and takes the map, revealing himself as the one who hired the Lin Kuei to steal the map. As payment, Quan Chi has wiped out the Shirai Ryu, presenting the head of their grandmasters to the Lin Kuei. Bi-Han points out that Quan Chi had also hired Scorpion for the same mission, the latter saying it was to increase the chance of success. If one failed, he could rely on the other to succeed. Bi-Han assumes that if Scorpion had been the one to get the map, he likely would have wiped out the Lin Kuei, as "payment." Quan Chi dodges it and leaves it up to Bi-Han's imagination. He has another job for the assassin, infiltrate the Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire Temples and retrieve their elemental keys. With these, Bi-Han will enter the Sacred Temple and retrieve an amulet that has "sentimental" value to him. He promises a high sum of money for the success of the mission, convinced Bi-Han is the only one who can succeed in this mission. Bi-Han agrees and begins making preparations to set out. As he leaves, he is stopped by Kuai Liang who points out how dangerous this mission is and that he has a feeling that Quan Chi cannot be trusted. Bi-Han just says a job's a job and he's going regardless of his brother's wishes. Kuai Liang sighes and wishes him luck, handing him a Grappling Hook that will prove integral to the Wind level in some fashion. Over the course of Bi-Han's travel, Quan Chi's voice will appear to give instructions/hints on how to proceed through the various temples, also possibly serving as a tutorial for new abilities.

Bi-Han arrives at the Wind Temple and makes his way through the traps, avoiding perilous drops and the harsh wind. He arrives at the shrine of the Wind Elemental and takes it, but is then accosted by Fujin, the God of Wind. The two fight with Bi-Han miraculously defeating the god. Fujin attempts to use a tornado of wind to kill Bi-Han, but he uses the grappling hook on rock to prevent himself from getting dragged into the tornado. Fujin explodes from the violent tornado.

There isn't much I can add to the Earth or Water Temples, just they would be more interesting than what they do in the game and the Water Temple would actually make use of Bi-Han's ice powers. Similar to the Grappling Hook, Bi-Han will gain a new tool after each area to give more variety in moves then just ice.

The Fire Temple will prove Bi-Han's greatest challenge, as ice powers are useless here. Instead, Bi-Han will have to use his tools and raw skill to overcome the trials of the Temple. He comes to face-to-face with the Fire God, Kaen. Bi-Han struggles against him, possibly being one of the harder bosses of the game. He eventually defeats them and recovers the final elemental, rather then the amulet being here for no reason.

Bi-Han returns to the Lin Kuei with the Elementals in tow, Quan Chi commends Bi-Han for his skill and that is job is not over yet. He takes Bi-Han to the Sacred Temple and has him open the doors of the temple with the elementals. He explains that the Amulet is hidden deep in this temple, and that the job will extremely dangerous. Nobody has seen the interiors of this place in ages, so Quan Chi will not be able to help Bi-Han once he goes in. The Sacred Temple is a difficult labyrinth, requiring careful exploration and making use of all of Bi-Han's tools and abilities he's acquired by this point. He finally reaches the center where the Amulet is, but first he must defeat the Orochi Hellbeast guarding it. Bi-Han defeats it, of course, and is about to grab the Amulet when Quan Chi suddenly appears and reveals the whole spiel about the amulet actually being Shinnok's and that he can escape and conquer realms. He grabs the amulet and disappears into a portal. Bi-Han is confused when an angry Raiden flashes in.

Raiden here, resembles his _MK1_ self in both appearance and personality, the latter of which I'll get into more detail with when I get to that game.

The Thunder God is absolutely furious and explains Shinnok's backstory to him. He orders Bi-Han to go to Netherrealm and retrieve the amulet, or he'll kill the Lin Kuei and his entire family. Bi-Han obliges and Raiden opens a portal to the Netherrealm for him to use to find Shinnok.

Bi-Han explores the realm and encounters, much to his surprise, Scorpion who is now a specter. He was allowed to return thanks to the powers of the dark realm, to avenge his death. Bi-Han narrowly defeats Scorpion who tells him that he cannot die, every death will just make him stronger, Bi-Han doesn't care and just kills him, after which his body disappears. He then gets surrounded by the Brotherhood of Shadow, Quan Chi's personal legion of goons. Bi-Han is in no shape to fight and surrenders, he is knocked out and trapped in the Prison of Souls. All seems lost for the Chinese ninja warrior and the realms, with Quan Chi even coming to his cell to gloat. After he leaves, Bi-Han uses his ice powers to break down the door and escape. He makes a rough escape out of the Prison and heads for Quan Chi's fortress, a difficult journey through the Netherrealm follows. He encounters Kia, one of the members of the Brotherhood of Shadow. The two banter, with Kia revealing that only people tainted with evil can survive long in the Netherrealm, meaning Bi-Han has darkness within him and he will be damned once he dies. This revelation troubles Bi-Han, who defeats Kia and kills her. He does the same to Jataaka as he nears Quan Chi's fortress.

Bi-Han crosses a large bridge to reach the fortress, when he is attacked by Sareena. He nearly kills her like the others before, but after considering the evil within, Bi-Han decides to spare her life and enters the fortress. He makes his way through the tricky and twisted fortress eventually coming across Quan Chi and the two fight. Bi-Han is suddenly backed by Sareena, helping him take down the sorcerer. Bi-Han grabs the defeated Quan Chi and toss him into the pit below, to his apparent death. Sareena approaches Bi-Han and she expresses how she grew to dislike serving Quan Chi and Shinnok, and would love to go to Earthrealm and live a peaceful life. Bi-Han promises her to give her wish and she aides Bi-Han in finding where Shinnok is. As the two arrive, Shinnok blasts Sareena, seemingly killing her. The fallen Elder God gloats about his victory before engaging Bi-Han in a fight. The Chinese ninja warrior is no match for the Elder God's strength, especially with him being empowered by the amulet. So, Bi-Han tricks him and freezes Shinnok. He leaps forward and rips off the amulet from his person. This angers Shinnok who transforms into a demon. At this point the player has the option to escape into a portal or, if they have good enough stats, try and defeat Shinnok. Doing the latter could also result in a change in Raiden's dialogue with Bi-Han at the end, but for now we are just gonna assume the former happens.

Bi-Han finds himself at Raiden's Sky Temple in Japan. Raiden grudgingly thanks Bi-Han for fixing his big mistake, but calls himself a weak mortal for not taking down Shinnok and that he should be thankful he didn't kill him for his incompetence. Nevertheless, he notices that Bi-Han is troubled and asks what is wrong. He tells Raiden about the darkness within, which Raiden tells him this is true and that only Bi-Han can change this. Raiden announces his intention to take the amulet to the Elder Gods in the Heavens, but not before returning Bi-Han to the Lin Kuei Temples.

The Grandmasters congratulate Bi-Han for saving the Earth and decide to grant him whatever he wants, as a reward. Bi-Han requests to retire so he can reform and cure himself of his darkness. The Grandmasters allow it, as long as he does one last job. A Japanese man in a suit walks in, revealing himself as an enemy of Shang Tsung. He doesn't elaborate what exactly happened between him and Shang, but he does promise the Lin Kuei a sum of 1,000,000 yuan for the assassination of Shang Tsung. The Grandmasters ask Bi-Han to go on this one, last mission before he retires and he reluctantly accepts. When asked where he can find Shang Tsung, the Grandmasters decide to tell him about the Mortal Kombat Tournament, cue the credits.

Midway through the credits, we get a scene of Quan Chi, who survived his supposed death. Here, it's revealed that Quan Chi had never given the real amulet to Shinnok. The one he possessed and that the Elder Gods now have is a replica so identical, that it is nearly impossible to tell so. Quan Chi has the real amulet and plans on using it to betray Shinnok, whenever they make their escape.

After the credits, we get one last scene. We are at the piers of a city in Hong Kong, 2 years after the events of the story. Bi-Han is about to board the boat to the Mortal Kombat Tournament when he is stopped by Kuai Liang. The latter expresses his desire to go help Bi-Han at the Tournament, but Bi-Han tells him it's his job and his alone. Liang reiterates the rumored dangers of the tournament, but Bi-Han promises him he'll be safe and that soon, his road to redemption will be begin.. They make their goodbyes and Bi-Han gets on the boat, with text indicating that the story will continue in _MK1_.

This Wasted Plotential was more focused on touching up certain plot details, incorporating info that was previously in outside material, and actually have the two Sub-Zeros actually interact. Seriously, in the actual canon the only interaction they had before Bi-Han became Noob Saibot was a brief flashback in the _MK4_ prequel comic. I wanted to include this more to give Bi-Han's eventual turn to Noob Saibot and the tragedy of the two brothers more of an impact.

I hope you enjoyed this Wasted Plotential, next we move on to _MK1_! That'll certainly be an interesting one, and I got quite a few ideas for that one. So keep an eye out for that!


	3. Wasted Plotential: Mortal Kombat 1

**WELCOME TO "WASTED PLOTENTIAL: MORTAL KOMBAT 1"**

Welcome back, to Wasted Plotential: Mortal Kombat (Original Timeline)! We're in for a bit of a long haul here, because it's time for the MK1 rewrite! This will be long as I will also be including the backstory for the tournament, elements from the comic, and the aftermath described in the MK2 prequel comic. The main goal of this one is to include elements in hindsight. If you go look at MK1's plot from just the game itself and the prequel comic, you can tell how much was retconned in later installments. So, let's get on with the Wasted Plotential!

Since the dawn of time, the MK universe has been divided into several different realms. These realms, once upon a time, co-existed peacefully for eons. But several unsavory louts would arise and threaten the balance of realms. Emperor Shao Kahn, ruler of Outworld, would invade and conquer realms, merging them with Outworld. He wasn't the first to do this, but slowly the number of realms lessened until less than 30% of the original realms remained.

In 958 BC, Shao Kahn invaded the realm of Earth and waged war with its inhabitants. He easily defeated the armies of humanity and it seemed like the end of Earth was inevitable. In desperation, the monks prayed to the Elder Gods to do something to stop this crazed warlord. The Elder Gods stopped Shao Kahn's invasion and announced the Mortal Kombat Tournament. This sacred tournament will be held every 50 years, between the best warriors of Earth and Outworld. The competition would be held on an island fortress in the East China Sea, taken care by the monks. Whoever wins the bracket will become the "Immortal Champion of Mortal Kombat" and will not age until they lose the title or they fulfill the goal. The Champion will then return to defend their title at the next one. If Earthrealm wins 10 tournaments in a row, Outworld must abandon the realm forever or face swift and merciless punishment by the Elder Gods. However, if Outworld wins 10 in a row, Shao Kahn will be allowed to legally invade the realm with no opposition from the Gods. Shao Kahn reluctantly agreed to these terms, alongside the monks. Thus, the first Mortal Kombat Tournament was held in 908 BC, beginning a struggle between the Earth and Outworld that would continue on for thousands of years. For a long time, it seemed as though no one would ever get the necessary 10 victories. The two always seemed to be evenly matched, neither getting a streak higher then 3. It looked like Earth and Outworld would be waging battle for all of eternity.

That was, until, the Mortal Kombat Tournament of 1042 AD. A mysterious young sorcerer by the name of Shang Tsung entered on the side of Outworld and decimated the Earthrealm warriors. Not only was he a master of magic and a great fighter, but he had a terrible power. Many years ago, Tsung took the soul of a fellow man. The Elder Gods punished Shang Tsung by cursing him, that he will become old and weak, then eventually turn to dust if he does not regularly consume souls. At first, Tsung was horrified and hated this curse. But once he discovered that he gains the knowledge and abilities of the person he consumed, he sang a different tune. Shao Kahn eventually got word of this powerful man, made him his chief sorcerer, and recruited him to compete in the tournament. Tsung easily took the title of Immortal Champion, beginning the first domination of the tournament by Outworld.

Tsung was without peer, he would remain Champion for the next 450 years, accumulating a total of 9 wins in a row for Outworld. No one on Earth had been able to get close to defeating Tsung, he left no survivors either. It seemed as though at long last, Shao Kahn wins. The monks desperately sought out someone who as capable of defeating Tsung, but never found anyone for the longest time.

When all hope seemed lost, HE appeared. A monk, named Kung Lao. He was the most skilled warrior the monks had ever seen. Having grown up listening to tales of Tsung and Outworld, Kung Lao decided to devote his life to train for the Mortal Kombat Tournament, the next one would happen while he was still in his prime. He entered the Mortal Kombat Tournament of 1492, where he easily won the right to face off against Shang Tsung. The overconfident sorcerer was no match for Kung Lao's speed and strength. Lao soundly defeated him, took the title of Immortal Champion, preventing Outworld from getting their 10th victory. Kung Lao became a hero throughout China, and would become known as "The Great Kung Lao."

The next Mortal Kombat began with a startling revelation. One of the three Grandmasters that oversaw the tournament had passed away and they were replaced by none other then Shang Tsung. He was now old, from having consumed little souls over the last 50 years. He had also brought with the Shokan Prince, Goro. His speed was incredible, unmatched in strength. Although Kung Lao fought long and hard, he would ultimately fall to Goro and his soul consumed by Shang Tsung. This marked the beginning of Outworld's second domination of the tournament, as well it's corruption at the hands of Shang Tsung.

450 years later, the next tournament was quickly approaching. Liu Kang, a trained warrior and monk of 24, visits the chamber of Master Wu. Kang had won the right to represent the Shaolin in the tournament and Wu calls him forth to see if he is still up for the task. Kang assures Master Wu that he is fully prepared and Wu tells him his mind and body must work as one to walk the wind if he wishes to defeat Goro. Kang departs to make preparations to head towards Hong Kong, where he'll board a boat to Shang Tsung's Island. One of the other monks in the meeting is Kung Zhang, Liu Kang's grandfather who previously only appeared in the first movie and mentioned in the MK4 prequel comic. He expresses his wish for Kang would have never had to risk his life in the tournament, but it's too late to turn back now and wishes him good luck. Kang proclaims to his grandfather that he should not worry as he will not fail.

Liu Kang would naturally resemble his MK1 design and retain his moves from that game. He would be characterized as a monk who normally wishes peace, but recognizes that he must sometimes fight for that peace. Kang loves martial arts and is a great fighter, having spent 15 years training under the great Bo Rai Cho. He's an ideal hero, a nice guy with great morals. Rather then dropping it after the first game, Liu Kang's refusal to kill due to his Shaolin beliefs would stay and be a plot point. He can still have fatalities to a degree, since they are pretty much non-canon, but still be "Thou Shall Not Kill" in-story. He is also one of the last descendants of the Great Kung Lao.

As Kang heads out, he runs into Kung Lao at the Shaolin Temple Gates. Kung Lao is a descendant of the Great Kung Lao, like Kang, but is from the main bloodline while Liu Kang is from the branch family. Ever since Kung Lao could walk, he was trained in martial arts so that he could fight and compete for Earthrealm in the tournament. Initially, Lao wanted nothing to do with the tournament and wished for a peaceful life. He eventually had to come with terms that he can't have a peaceful life while Earth is under threat from Outworld and started taking his training more seriously. Several months ago, the Shaolin held a competition to determine who would represent them in the tournament. The final match came down to him against Liu Kang, the latter emerging the victor, much to Kung Lao's anger, but that will be touched more upon in a different chapter. (Shaolin Monks is gonna be a total rewrite by the way)

The two talk, with Kung Lao's dialogue having subtle references to having a slight resenment towards Liu Kang and the two have a sparring match. In the end, Lao wishes him luck and Liu Kang departs, telling Lao that he'll see him again after the tournament. As Kung Lao heads back to the temples, he says something about how it actually might be sooner then he thinks, foreshadowing his return later on.

Two weeks later, martial artist and famed actor, Johnny Cage is preparing to board the boat to the tournament against the wishes of his secretary and agent. They try to talk them out of it, also revealing in the process that most of the knowledge of the Mortal Kombat Tournament has been reduced to myths and rumors. Cage ignores the two and gets on the boat.

In another part of Hong Kong, a Special Forces van is chasing down a jeep through the streets. The jeep is being driven by the Black Dragon and Kano, who reveals he is going to the Island due to rumors of large amounts of gold and treasure. He climbs onto the van and we get to see it's interior. Inside, we see Sparky, Jake, as well as two other officers that I'm just gonna name Carlson and Steve, and Sonya. She witnesses Kano trying to give them the slip and jumps from the van alongside Jake to get him. Kano blows up some barrels and uses that as a distraction to jump on the boat just as it leaves. Jake is ready to open fire, but Sonya just manages to stop him so that they don't hurt the others on board. Sonya radios the situation back to Jax, who tells her to follow them to wherever there going and give him reports annually, before wishing her luck.

Meanwhile, Tsung arrives at Raiden's Sky Temple in the mountains of Rural Japan. He enters, the place appearing dilapidated and abandoned. He kneels by a throne and delivers his message to Raiden. He invites Raiden to compete in the tournament or does he fear the dangers of Mortal Kombat? A large lighting bolt blinds Tsung and the Sky Temple now appears much more in order. Raiden is sitting on the throne and declares he fears no mortal. He accepts the invitation, so that he may prove he is mightier than any mortal.

Raiden here, we are going to be doing something different with him. Rather then going with him always being MK2 Raiden, we are going to have him start out as the jerk MK1 Raiden and have him develop into the wise mentor role. His character development into this will be a major point in the MK1, MK2, and MK3 wasted plotentials.

Back on the boat, Johnny and Kano have gotten into a brawl. Cage gets his butt kicked, until Liu Kang steps in to help. The two are able to knock back Kano and his new pals. Kang and Cage talk and bond a little bit, with Kang hinting to him that there is more to the tournament then he knows. In the Crow's nest, Bi-Han is watching all this when, all of a sudden, Scorpion appears behind him. Bi-Han is shocked, having thought he killed him after their battle in the Netherrealm. Scorpion reveals that you can't kill a spectre, he just reforms in the Netherrealm and, as a bonus, his power increases. He will avenge his death and the deaths of his clansmen that he believes the Lin Kuei killed 2 years ago. However, he is an honorable man, and will wait to strike at the tournament. Bi-Han says letting him live is foolish, but you also get a sense of guilt and regret, showing how much his character has changed from the start of Mythologies.

The dozens of ships arrive at the Island and the various kombatants head for Shang Tsung's Courtyard. There, Tsung gives his speech about how this is the most important tournament, as Goro's victory will allow Shao Kahn to invade their realm. He also reveals that he captured Sonya and her unit, and that she'll have to compete if she wants to return home with them alive. After the speech concludes everyone piles out except Cage, Kano, Liu Kang, Bi-Han, Sonya, and Raiden, the latter having been silent this entire time. Johnny and Kano ask what the heck is going on and Liu Kang explains the backstory of the Mortal Kombat Tournament. Bi-Han, thanks to experiences in Mythologies, backs up Kang's story and possibly shares some info from his own adventures. Kano isn't going to have some stupid emperor take over the Earth when that's the Black Dragon's duty, and declares that he is going to take down that four-armed chump of a champion. Thus, Cage, Kano, Liu Kang, Bi-Han and Sonya agree to an alliance to ensure that Outworld does not get their 10th victory. Johnny notices Raiden just standing silently, walking over to him and asking if he would like to join their group. The Thunder God suddenly knocks them all away with lighting, loudly boasting his name. He is Earth's Guardian, Raiden, and he has entered the tournament for his own sake. To prove that the gods are mightier than any mortal. This angers Liu Kang, since he's...you know, supposed to be the Protector God of Earthrealm, but is pretty much showing disregard for their plight against Outworld. Raiden tells him that if the mortals were so good, they would have gotten their 10 victories and be done with Outworld already. He says they have no chance of winning, against Outworld or him. Kang responds that there is more to us mortals than meets the eye, after which Raiden disappears in a bolt of lighting, leading to a rainstorm. The others comment on Raiden being a jerk of a god, while Kang swears that he'll teach Raiden a lesson at the tournament.

After three days of practice, the Tournament begins. The opening match is Johnny Cage against Reptile in the Courtyard. During this fight we get an idea of how humorous and much of a snarker he is, doing some pretty silly maneuvers that make Reptile look stupid to the other kombatants. He then gets serious and shows of genuine fighting skills, managing to easily defeat him. Shang Tsung orders Cage to finish Reptile, which responds with a joke before the silence of him, the other Grandmasters, and the crowd realize that he is serious. Cage tells Tsung that he may be from Hollywood, but he's not a monster and choses mercy. Tsung leaves to oversee a match elsewhere while the crowd remains for the next Courtyard match. Johnny heads out in disgust when he is stopped by the others. Kang congratulates Cage for his performance and for sparing Reptile's life. Kano, Sonya, and Bi-Han question this since it would probably be best for them to kill Outworld's warriors since they are, well, evil. Cage defends Liu Kang, who tells about how being raised as a monk taught him to respect all life. This could be a point of contention between the group, throughout the tournament as Kano, Sonya, Bi-Han, and even Raiden finish off their opponents while Johnny and Liu Kang spare them.

We get a montage of Kano, Sonya, and Bi-Han's first match which they all win and we them use their respective fatalities on their opponents. That evening, we finally get to Liu Kang's match that he wins rather easily, landing a Flying Kick for the final blow. Goro, who had been watching in silence with Shang Tsung, remarks about how Liu Kang is different from the other monks who have competed in the past. Tsung, angry, tells Goro not to worry about him as the shaolin are spineless weaklings. But deep down, Tsung knows Liu Kang could be a threat to their victory. We also get a match showing just how powerful Raiden is as the God of Thunder and Scorpion, with Bi-Han telling the others an abridged tale of his and Scorpion's rivalry.

The tournament progresses until only 16 kombatants remain, with all the MK1 cast still in the competition. Sonya and Kano learn that there next match will be against each other, meaning the two will finally have proper confrontation after six years. While Sonya trains, she explains to Liu Kang and Johnny about her rivalry with Kano and how he murdered her partner back when she was a police officer. The night of the following day, Kano and Sonya head to the Warrior Shrine for their match. The two of them fight for several rounds, Kano eventually gaining an edge after he breaks one of Sonya's arms. When Sonya seems to be done for, she goads Kano into using his Kanoball, then jumps out of the way, which cause Kano to smash straight into one of the statues and he is knocked out. Shang Tsung tells Sonya to finish him, and she almost obliged, due to all he has done to her in the past. Kang tries to convince her to spare him while Tsung continues to push Sonya into killing him. In the end, Sonya choses Mercy, telling Tsung she won't stoop to his level anymore and as thanks to Kano for helping in their alliance against Outworld. This round concludes with the remaining MK1 characters winning their respective matches and advancing to the Quarter-Finals.

While Sonya is heading back to her room for the night, she overhears Shang Tsung and Goro talking with some guards. Tsung reveals that he has no intent on sparing Sonya's unit, especially after she embarrassed him at her earlier match. He orders Goro and the guards to torture, then kill her unit. Upon hearing this, Sonya rushes over to Liu Kang's room, where he is hanging with Johnny. He tells the two about this, and the three team up to go rescue the unit. They jump a guard and get him to reveal the where the unit is imprisoned, Goro's Lair. The trio make their way through to the lair, fighting guards and Reptile along the way. They locate the cell...only to find Sparky, Carlson, and Steve dead, while Jake is critically injured. Sonya tends to Jake while Liu Kang and Cage fight against an onslaught of guards. Eventually, Goro arrives and demands that they return to their rooms and leave Jake. Naturally, the heroes refuse and seem ready to fight Goro. He points out that fighting the Champion without earning the right through the tournament is against the rules, so they are screwed. Cage walks over and says they aren't gonna fight and all they need is one thing. Goro questions what that is, only for Cage to do the splits and his infamous Nut Punch on Goro, who falls overs. The three grab Jake and flee the lair, with Goro ordering the guards to chase them. They end up surrounded and Jake, through some means, sacrifices himself to kill most of the guards and save the three. The trio escape from Goro's Lair with their lives, at the cost of Jake's. This leads to Sonya having a breakdown over losing her unit and friends and about how she couldn't save them or her partner. Johnny and Kang comfort her, further strengthening their friendship.

Now, it is time for the Mortal Kombat Tournament Quarter-Finals! The next match-up is Sonya vs. Sub-Zero! Sonya mentions to him how he wish he they didn't have to fight, but Bi-Han tells her not to be concerned about that and give the match her all. He demonstrates some of his powers and how he's improved with his recent training, declaring he'll be the victor. Later that day, the two meet in at the Palace Gates for the match. They fight and although Sonya puts up a good fight, she ends up being no match for the assassin and loses. Obviously, Bi-Han does not kill her and congratulates Sonya on her performance, even giving her some advice. Scorpion suddenly appears and comments on how Bi-Han has changed much since their encounter 2 years ago, but that won't make him forgive his murder of him. He swears that the two will meet in the Finals and that Bi-Han will die.

That night, we move over to the Pit for another match, Liu Kang against Raiden. As the two warm-up before the fight, Raiden comments that the monk should just surrender now, but Kang retorts that Raiden first has to prove that he is mightier than this mortal. This fight begins and two clash, delivering a frenzy of attacks that they each dodge or block. Over the course of the fight, the two trade blows, dodge each others attacks, and Raiden is shocked at how Liu Kang seems to be actually making this an even match. At one point, Kang hits Raiden with a Flying Kick that cause him to fall of the bridge. Showing how honorable and kind he is, Kang manages to grab Raiden and save him from the spikes below. The Thunder God respects this and decides will use even more of his power, since Kang is actually a challenge. This causes Liu Kang to struggle against him for the next few rounds, but he manages to land an absolutely perfect blow against Raiden and narrowly wins the match. Johnny and the others congratulate Kang on his win, while Raiden remains on the ground. He is confused how a mortal, a young one at that, could defeat a god. As he ponders this over, Liu Kang walks over and offers Raiden his hand. It seems like he won't accept it at first, but he eventually does and Raiden remarks on Liu Kang's abilities and that he'll be eager to see his performance in the Semi. Thus the Quarter-Finals conclude with Tsung announcing the Semi-Final matches, Liu Kang vs. Sub-Zero and Johnny Cage vs. Scorpion.

We then get a montage of the four spending the next day training and sparring for their matches. All this time, Raiden is watching from secret, curious of the monk's abilities. In Shang Tsung's throne room, Goro is discussing the four remaining kombatants with Tsung. When Tsung asks if he views any of them as threats, Goro responds that any four of them could give him a good fight, picking out Liu Kang in particular as having the best chance of winning against him. Legitimately fearing Kang's victory, he sends out some guards and Outworld warriors to assassinate Liu Kang, who is currently practicing alone in the Courtyard. Kang fights against them, but is outnumbered. He ends up being saved when all of his assassins are mysteriously stricken dead all at once by lighting bolts. Tsung is shocked upon learning this, only for Raiden to show up and basically call him out for trying to cheat. The sorcerer remarks on how he though the thunder god didn't care for the mortals, only for Raiden to say that he is just doing it to ensure the kombatant's safety, a sign of Raiden undergoing character development.

The first Semi we see is Liu Kang and Sub-Zero, at the Warrior's Shrine. As the fight begins the two circle around the arena, bantering for a bit. Eventually, Kang launches a fireball and Bi-Han throws a iceball, which just cancels each other out. The two eventually realize using these powers is basically useless and they run forward and engage in hand-to-hand kombat. It's shown that Liu Kang is better then Bi-Han in close range kombat, while Bi-Han is superior in mid and far range. Bi-Han tries to get in the latter ranges, but Kang is fast and just jumps in with an onslaught of punches and kicks. He does grab and opening, slide kicking him and freezing Kang while he is still on the ground. Bi-Han grabs Liu Kang throws him into a pillar, breaking the ice and hurting Liu Kang rather badly. This gives Bi-Han the edge, leading to him pummeling on Kang for a bit. When Kang is not sure if he can keep up with Bi-Han, he thinks back to Master Wu's words about how his mind and body must work as one to walk the wind if he wants to win. Liu Kang focuses intently on Bi-Han's movements, and sees him going into his slide motion. Quickly, he launches into the air and lands a very fast Flying Kick against Sub-Zero. Bi-Han ends up being KO'ed, advancing Liu Kang to the Finals, much to Scorpion's anger.

Next is Johnny Cage vs. Scorpion at the Palace Gates. Kang, Bi-Han, Sonya, and Kano enter the audience, the first two warning Cage to be careful against Scorpion. Unfortunately, Johnny has gotten a bit cocky due to his performance and progress in the tournament, just telling Liu Kang that he'll win and then beat him in the Final, before kicking Goro's shokan butt. The match starts and Johnny fight more playfully, like he did with Reptile in his first match. Scorpion however, is having none of that, and proceeds to kick his ass. Johnny nervously quips like usual, only for frustrated Scorpion tell them to shut up before punching him right in the sunglasses, breaking them. This upsets Johnny immensely and he goes into serious mode, even more then when he went serious against Reptile. He proceeds to avoid all of Scorpion's moves and launches his full shadow power into all his attacks, leading to him doing the ass kicking now. It seems like Johnny will win, until Cage's ego gets the best of him and he starts insulting Scorpion and boasting to the crowd. While he is distracted, Scorpion spears Johnny to him, uppercuts, and roundhouse kicks Cage a couple yards. Reality ensues, as a spear to the chest does some pretty bad damage and Johnny ends up surrendering when he sees that, well, his spear wound hurts badly and won't stop bleeding. Kang and Sonya run over to help Johnny and tend to his wound, while Scorpion proclaims to Liu Kang that he will destroy him for robbing him of his fight against Sub-Zero. The two stare each other down as Tsung announces the final match, the winner of which will earn the right to face Goro and determine the fate of Earthrealm.

Liu Kang trains with Sonya and Bi-Han for the match against Scorpion while Johnny watches, still recovering from his wound. Raiden shows up and sits alongside Cage, with maybe some amusing banter between the two. When Kang notices Raiden, he disappears and wonders why he's been spying on him lately.

Scorpion meanwhile is training alone back in the Netherrealm, when suddenly Shang Tsung appears through a portal. He empowers Scorpion, in order to help him defeat Liu Kang. He tells Scorpion that if he beats and kills Liu Kang, he will bring Scorpion back to the world of the living and restore his memories. Scorpion accepts...before questioning what Tsung means by "restore his memories?" Alas, Tsung disappears through the portal without answer.

We return to the Courtyard for Liu Kang and Scorpion's match. The audience of monks and eliminated kombatants are buzzing with excitement, discussing who will win. The monk and spectre then arrive and kombat begins. This fight is one of the longest and hardest for Liu Kang, as Scorpion is relentless in his assault, but also careless. This carelessness allows Kang to score some good hits on the spectre, who only gets angrier and angrier. The two at one point exchange fireballs, with Scorpion's shown to be much stronger as it just blasts through Kang's. Eventually, the two are almost drained of all stamina after the long fight, when Scorpion throws his spear. Liu Kang dodges it, grabs the the chain, and pulls Scorpion to him and uppercuts him. Thus, Scorpion loses even with his additional power from Shang Tsung. The sorcerer begrudgingly announces Liu Kang's victory and how he has earned the right to fight Goro, which will commence in 3 days. The crowd cheers and chants for Kang, while Johnny and the others run over to congratulate him. Scorpion looks over and bows in respect to Liu Kang, who does the same. Goro speaks to Tsung about how he can't wait to fight the monk, with Tsung declaring Goro to not be afraid or even thinking about the possibility of losing. Goro chuckles and remarks to Tsung that he doesn't intend to lose, before returning to his lair for training.

Later that night, Liu Kang is in his room with Johnny, Kano, Sub-Zero, and Sonya. They are hanging out and discussing about his fight with Goro, talking about strategies to take him down. As they are talking, the door opens . Shang Tsung walks in with three guards and mockingly congratulates the monk for advancing all the way to Goro. Liu Kang and Johnny mock back to Tsung, and this eventually turns into a heated argument that ends with Tsung asking just who Kang thinks he is. Liu Kang remarks he is a humble Shaolin Monk and a descendant of the Great Kung Lao...who's soul Tsung carries. Shang Tsung is shocked, having thought his bloodline died with him. Him and the guards leave, but one of them gives a long look at Kang.

Three days pass, it's time for the match that decides the fate of Earthrealm. Liu Kang and Goro are escorted to Shang Tsung's Throne Room, as the Earthrealm crowd cheers for Kang and the Outworlders for Goro. Everyone, including Raiden, arrive to view the match. The two warm-up and the fight begins. The match doesn't go well at first for Liu Kang, who can't seem to keep up with Goro's speed and strength at first. During an intermission, Liu Kang analyzes Goro. He hasn't been able to do much damage to Goro's torso and arm area, they are way to big and muscular for him to do much damage against. This gets him an idea, the legs and head are the key to winning as they are nowhere near as developed as the other areas. Once the fight resumes, Liu Kang is able to land solid blows to Goro's head and legs, actually harming the shokan. Goro counters by predicting which one Liu Kang goes to attack, and is able to prevent Kang from striking for a while. However, Kang eventually counters this by doing fake-outs and being more unpredictable with his moves and pattern. The fight goes on, the two warriors coming up with counters to strategies the other comes up with. Unfortunately, Kang is starting to get exhausted and he realizes he needs to find a way to end this fight quick. He suddenly has a memory from about 10 years ago, during his training with Bo Rai' Cho. He recalls a particular blow that he showed him and Kang decides to pull it off. He dodges Goro's attack, leaving him wide open. Liu Kang, with the wind behind his fist, lands a punch square on Goro's heart. This disrupts his heart beat and stuns him. Kang then powers up his fist with fire, uppercutting Goro across his chest and head. Goro falls to the ground, unconscious. The gong is rung and the other grandmasters declare Liu Kang the winner of the Tournament and the new Immortal Champion. The audience go wild, Johnny and the others cheers, while Raiden is left stunned over the mortal having defeated the mighty Goro. Kang puts his hands together and bows to Goro, thanking him for the good fight.

Then things go very poor, very fast. A small earthquake shakes the room, Shang Tsung is outraged, kills the other Grandmasters, and delivers a mighty shout of anger that echoes throughout the whole island. He orders his troops to attack, the guards and Outworlders begin fighting not only the crowd in the throne room, but the monks and kombatants across the island. In the ensuing chaos, Tsung grabs Liu Kang and the two disappear through a portal in the ground that promptly vanishes. Johnny, Kano, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Sonya, and Raiden work together with the other kombatants to fight them off, but most of the generic kombatants end up getting killed. Reptile shows up with some more guards and attacks, it seems like the heroes will be outnumbered. Then, one of the guards slices Reptile's chest with a large hat. It's revealed this guard is actually Kung Lao, who had snuck onto the island towards the beginning of the tournament and was that guard who gave Kang the look earlier. At this point, the seven warriors head out of the palace and see the chaos across the island. Raiden decides to take charge and split the group into two. Him, Sub-Zero, and Scorpion will work to take care of Shang Tsung's army. Meanwhile Johnny, Kano, Sonya, and Kung Lao will work together to get the monks and other non-kombatants to the pier so they can escape the island.

Meanwhile, we see that Shang Tsung has dragged Liu Kang down to Goro's Lair. Tsung angrily remarks how, thanks to Kang, that 450 years of hard work have gone down the drain and that Shao Kahn is not gonna be happy with him. Tsung challenges Kang to Mortal Kombat who, despite having not recovered from the fight against Goro, accepts.

Back with the others, Bi-Han and Scorpion are doing surprisingly well working together against Shang Tsung's army, with Raiden helping greatly with dispatching a ton of the soldiers. Johnny, Kano, Sonya, and Kung Lao have gathered the surviving monks and non-kombatants and are leading them back to the pier. They reach the Pit and have gotten rid of the soldiers that were following them. Since it's a straight shot across the bridge to the pier, Kung Lao leaves them so that he can go find and help Liu Kang.

The three lead the others across the bridge, but before they can cross it, Goro drops in and blocks their escape. Johnny and Sonya aren't sure if they can take him on, but Kano points out that Goro probably is still hurt from his fight with Liu Kang and the three of them should be able to take him on no problem. Thus the trio begin fighting Goro atop the Pit.

In Goro's Lair, Liu Kang isn't doing too hot against Shang Tsung. Not only is the sorcerer rather powerful, but Kang is still dealing with the injuries and exhaustion from the Goro fight. Tsung insults Kang and the Great Kung Lao and it seems that Tsung is about to win when Kung Lao arrives and punches him across the face, boasting about how Kang isn't the only descendant of the Great Kung Lao. Tsung quickly recovers and throws his flaming skulls at Kung Lao, knocking him across the room. Liu Kang recovers from a daze and sees Shang Tsung trying to take Kung Lao's soul. This angers Liu Kang enough that he gains a second wind and shouts, Tsung turns around just as Liu Kang launches a lighting fast, Flying Kick, so powerful that it sends the sorcerer straight through a wall. Kang helps Lao up and the two jokingly banter, thanking each other for the help. Suddenly, the lair begins collapsing around them.

While flying in the sky, Raiden notices the Fortress is starting to fall apart. The army is pretty much defeated, so he informs the two ninjas that he is going to look for the others and tells them to escape as quickly as they can. He leaves and Sub-Zero begins heading towards the pier, only to be tackled by Scorpion. The spectre reminds Bi-Han that he said they would fight at the tournament and he is not leaving without that battle. The two begin fighting as the fortress is falling apart.

Back at the Pit, the three are still fighting Goro when Johnny hears the collapsing fortress in the distance. Almost immediately after, there is a huge explosion and the part of the bridge they were on falls apart. Goro, Kano, and Sonya fall into the darkness below while Johnny manages to grab onto what is left the bridge. Johnny tries to pull himself up, but doesn't manage it before the part he's holding onto breaks off as well. He starts falling, only to saved by Raiden. Cage, startled, asks just what the hell is happening. Raiden explains that Liu Kang must have defeated Shang Tsung and, in one last act of desperation, is using his magic to destroy the entire Palace. As they fly over the island, the two notice Sub-Zero and Scorpion fighting down below. Scorpion defeats Bi-Han who beg for his life, as a call-back to Mythologies with Scorpion even repeating Bi-Han's words from that encounter. The spectre removes his mask, revealing a flaming skull which he uses to burn Sub-Zero down to his bone. He then bursts into flames and disappears.

They arrive at the pier, where all but one boat has sailed away from the island. He drops Cage on the boat, with Liu Kang and Kung Lao arriving shortly after. Johnny points out that Kano and Sonya are still back there, Liu Kang saying they have to go find them. Raiden states it's too late and they have to leave now. The boat sails away from the pier, just in time as Shang Tsung's Palace is destroyed in a massive explosion.

Days later, a big celebration is being held at the Wu Shi Academy. An award ceremony is being held for Liu Kang, attended by Johnny, Raiden, Kung Lao, Bo Rai' Cho, Kung Zhang, possibly a child Kung Jin, and the monks. Kang receives the Champion Medal from Master Wu who declares Liu Kang the new "Immortal Champion of Mortal Kombat." Suddenly, a magic force channels through Kang's body. Wu explains that was the magic charm of the Elder Gods. As Champion, Liu Kang will not age until he either loses the title at a tournament or if he gets 10 wins in a row. We get one final applause and cheer from the crowd and Johnny decides to throw a party.

At the party, Liu Kang asks Bo Rai' Cho if they'll continue his training, but he tells him that he has nothing more to teach Kang. He suggests that he goes out on his own, see the world and train himself. Raiden bows to Liu Kang, expressing his amazement at his triumph over Goro and Shang Tsung. He announces his leave and disappears in a bolt of lighting. Kang is surprised at Raiden's behavior, considering his previous actions. Cage reveals how he helped them back on the Island and Kang wonders if he got through to him after all.

We then return to Raiden's Sky Temple, where Raiden is meditating when in walks Fujin. He asks how the Mortal Kombat Tournament went, which Raiden just says it went well. Fujin can tell there's something he isn't telling him and Raiden briefly goes over his experiences. Raiden wonders if there's more to mortals then he thinks, to which Fujin replies that only he can find out that answer. Raiden asks Fujin to join him in meditation and he does so.

Johnny departs the Temples to head back to the States, mentioning to Kang how he still feels distraught over the deaths of Sonya and Kano. Kang remarks that he doesn't think they're dead, that those two are tougher than they think. This manages to cheer up Cage a bit who makes his goodbyes. Liu Kang packs and prepares to go on his own journey, when he is approached by Kung Lao. The two have a bit of moment together, with Kung Lao being genuine in congratulations to Liu Kang for becoming Champion and avenging their ancestor. The main reason he came though, was to give him a gift. The Great Kung Lao's headband and gauntlets that were passed down to him, he wishes to give to Liu Kang. He is unsure about taking them, since they were meant for Kung Lao, but he insists. Liu Kang thanks Lao and accepts them, which helps set up his outfit change for MK2. (We're just gonna say he got the new martial arts pants somewhere between stories)

We end with Liu Kang, now wearing the headband and gauntlets, walking off onto a new journey. Waving goodbye to him are Kung Lao, Kung Zhang, Kung Jin, Bo Rai' Cho, and Master Wu. Thus, the credits roll and MK1 comes to a close.

Except for one last scene, after the credits. Back at the ruins of Goro's Lair, Shang Tsung's body is unearthed by two figures. The two remark on Tsung's failures and that he is apparently just barely alive. It's then revealed that the two figures are none other than the King Gorbak, Goro's father, and Kintaro. They take away Shang Tsung through a portal, and the story finally ends.

As you might be able to tell, I got really into writing this and I like how it turned out. The main goal was to flesh out MK1's story and make it fit more with the original continuity. There were certain elements I introduced to help add some additional lore to the series. Such as, going into the origins of the tournament in more detail and adding that Earth also gets something from winning 10 tournaments in a row. I hope you all enjoyed this, I had a lot of fun making this. Up next, of course, is Wasted Plotential on MK2!


	4. Wasted Plotential: Mortal Kombat II

WELCOME TO "WASTED PLOTENTIAL: MORTAL KOMBAT II"

We did MK1, now it's time for the MK2 Wasted Plotential. I had a lot of fun writing the previous one, so I couldn't wait to start working on MK2. I don't think this is gonna be as long as MK1, but I guess we'll see when we're done here. We don't have much concrete info on what happened during MK2 in the original continuity. All we know is; the backstory in the MK2 prequel comic, Kitana found out the truth of Mileena and killed her, Liu Kang won the Outworld Tournament and defeated Shao Kahn. That's pretty much it, as far as I can tell, so it will be interesting in that regard. How about we get started, shall we?

We open up with Johnny Cage recapping the events of MK1, at the end of which it's revealed that he was arrested by the Special Forces after he got back to the States. We then see he's being interrogated by Jax, Beran, and General Marshall. Jax and Marshall don't believe Johnny's story, but Beran points out that Cage has told the story the exact same, five times. We learn that Sonya apparently sent out an S.O.S signal when she was captured by Shang Tsung, but they couldn't exactly trace it. They are forced to let Cage go, but Jax promises that once he finds evidence of the truth, he'll be coming after Cage.

One year later, we open up in Outworld at Shao Kahn's Palace. Shang Tsung has spent the last year being tortured in the Flesh Pits, when he is brought out of his imprisonment by King Gorbak and Kintaro. We learn that Shao Kahn has been away at war and has finally return, now he plans on dealing with Tsung. Gorbak gives a speech, boiling down to that Shang Tsung should be executed for his failure to take Earth and for the apparent death of his son, Goro. Shao Kahn is pretty angry to return from war, only to learn that 450 years of kombat have once again gone down the drain. Feeling merciful, he decides to let Shang Tsung plead his case and give him a good reason to spare him, otherwise he will led Gorbak take him away to the Shokan Kingdom for execution.

Tsung explains his idea, to enact an old challenge that was established long ago by the Elder Gods. Any realm can exercise the right of challenge via tournament, as long as they can breach the dimensional gates to issue this challenge. Unfortunately, Shang Tsung is old and has been considerably weakened, so he can no longer do this. If he did have the strength, he could open a portal strong enough to transport a small army to Earth, issue the challenge, and possibly launch a revenge attack for Goro. As in according with the rules, they can hold this tournament in Outworld, where they will have a major advantage. Shao Kahn asks a Shadow Priest their advice, who responds that Shao Kahn will be invincible if this succeeds, but possibly suffer eternal damnation if that plan fails. Kahn decides to accept Tsung's proposal and restores him to his youth, around Liu Kang's age. Although he doesn't agree, Gorbak decides to honor Kahn's decision and offers Kintaro's service. Kahn thanks Gorbak and proceeds to give his instructions to Tsung on where he wants the revenge to take place, sending Baraka, Kitana, and Mileena with him.

Back at Special Forces HQ in New York, Beran suddenly picks up a scrambled video signal. Gemini clarifies it and puts it on screen, revealing Sonya and Kano in a dense forest. She explains that they are trapped in the realm of Outworld, that her and Kano have teamed up to survive this hellhole. They plead for help as some sort of hellbeast starts to attack them, when they lose the signal. Jax realizes Cage was telling the truth, so him, Beran, and Marshall head to Hollywood.

We return to Liu Kang, now sporting his black and red martial pants alongside the headbands and gauntlets he got at the end last time. He is walking down a road, towards the Shaolin Temples. He is returning after having been gone on his training journey for the past year. Kang heads over a hill, with the temple in view...only see it ruined and emitting smoke. Horrified, Liu Kang quickly rushes over to the temple and searches the place. Monks everywhere, dead. He arrives at the chambers and breaks down, crying, when he finds the corpse of Master Wu. After a bit of silence, Liu Kang become enraged and swears that he will avenge his shaolin brothers and bring to justice whoever did this massacre. All of a sudden, the chamber doors open and Kung Lao walks in, putting his hand on Kang's shoulder.

The two walk to the courtyard, where they reunite with Kung Zhang and Kung Jin. Kung Lao explains they had survived because the three of them were taking a hike in the nearby mountains. They saw the attack in the far distance, but got there too late to help. He also reveals that not only was Master Wu killed, but so was Kung Jin's father. We get a little moment where the two monks comfort Kung Jin. Liu Kang wonders who could be responsible for this attack, but Kung Lao says it is obvious; Outworld. Although he wasn't able to help much at Shang Tsung's Island, Liu Kang can bet that Kung Lao will help all he can to get their revenge. Zhang warns the two not to let revenge consume them or they will be doomed, the two assuring that they won't and need to make sure Outworld doesn't do this to anyone else again.

Then, a huge hover jet appears and lands outside the temples. The four head over to the jet, out of which a man in a business suit and sunglasses walk out. Kung Lao recognizes the plane as Lin Kuei, so him and Kang make battle poses. The man says he doesn't plan to fight and hands them his card, revealing that he is...Sub-Zero. Liu Kang tells him he can't possibly be Sub-Zero, since he died in the aftermath of the Mortal Kombat Tournament. The man reveals he is Bi-Han's younger brother, Kuai Liang. A year ago, word returned that Bi-Han had been murdered at the tournament. Liang was given the Sub-Zero title and he began searching for who could possibly have killed his brother. Liu Kang tells him that he was killed by a spectre named Scorpion, which Liang had long suspected. Liang tells them that the Lin Kuei detected some weird energy signature and took surveillance photos, showing them one of the revilatized Shang Tsung. One of the their agents also heard him and his followers talk about heading to Hollywood, Liang wondering why they could be heading there. Liu Kang immediately realizes that Cage is in danger, requesting that they head there immediately. Before they leave, the two say farewells to Kung Zhang and Kung Jin. Those two are going to contact monks from the other temples and recruit their help in rebuilding. Jin cries out to Lao, asking him come back safely, with Lao promising that he will.

At Raiden's Sky Temple, the Thunder God is sitting in his chair, the events of the Mortal Kombat Tournament still on his thought. The doors to his temple burst open, with a monk walking inside and exclaims to Raiden that summoning terrible is going on before collapsing. Before Raiden can question this, he senses portal activity and leaves to investigate.

At this point, Raiden has his MK2 design. His personality is more of "Jerk with a Heart of Gold" rather than more jerkiness he displayed in MK1. He acts a bit nicer, but can still be an ass and decides to take move investment in Earthrealm's protection.

Meanwhile, in Hollywood, Johnny (now in his MK2 look) is preparing to film a commercial. He's on the phone, apparently talking to someone over a disagreement with the script to the Mortal Kombat film he's making. They begin filming, only to be immediately interrupted when a portal opens behind them. Out of the portal appears, Baraka, Kintaro, Mileena, Kitana, Reptile, Jade, and Shang Tsung with guards behind them. Johnny doesn't recognize Tsung at first, becoming shocked at his change appearance. In the lobby, Jax, Beran, and Marshall are trying to get the secretary to let them see Johnny. They get their wish when Cage is sent bursting through a wall, into the lobby. Jax runs over and tells Johnny about how Sonya and Kano is trapped in Outworld. Shang Tsung overhears this and sends off guards to find and capture them. Before Johnny can warn Jax, Tsung throws a skull fireball at Jax. He survives, but his shirt is burned off. Briggs gets a bit angry and decides to attack Kintaro while Beran and Marshall attack the others. Tsung orders Kitana and Jade to help Baraka against Johnny and Marshall, while Mileena goes to attack Beran. Jax and Kintaro go through the wall and into the parking lot, just as Sub-Zero's hover jet arrives. We see a few more Lin Kuei warriors, including Smoke, while the monks and Sub-Zero discuss what's going on down below. Liu Kang and Kung Lao will head down now while Sub-Zero and Smoke wait for their own opportunity to strike.

Kang strikes Kintaro with a fireball and Kung Lao with his hat. Jax accepts their help and prepares to continue their fight, but Shang Tsung halts the battle now that the Immortal Champion has arrived. Sub-Zero and Smoke drop down to strike, only to be repelled by an invisible Reptile.

Raiden appears in a bolt of lighting and questions Tsung on why he has trespassed into Earthrealm. Shang Tsung issues his challenge that all realms have the right to have, challenging the Earthrealm warriors to a tournament in Outworld. Now, they must either accept or forfeit. Tsung then disappears with his soldiers into the portal. Liu Kang wonders if this can actually be allowed, with Raiden saying that it unfortunately is. If they refuse, it will weaken the Dimensional Barriers between Earth and Outworld, as well losing them favor with the Heavens. They have no choice, Raiden will open a portal to Outworld and they will compete in Shao Kahn's tournament. Jax is unsure of this and decides he need to check with Beran and Marshall first. The General isn't sure about this and the two realize that Beran isn't around. Johnny find Beran, or what's left of him, just a pile of bones. Jax tells Marshall that now has to go, with Marshall passing due to his old age. Thus the heroes are formed; Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Jax, Sub-Zero, Smoke, and Johnny Cage. Raiden opens the portal and they enter Outworld. Suddenly, Scorpion emerges from the shadows. He believes the Sub-Zero he saw was Bi-Han, who came back from the dead like he did, and quickly jumps in the portal so that he may kill him again.

The heroes find themselves in the Wastelands of Outworld, desolate and full of ruins. They are approached by Shao Kahn's guards, who escorts them to the Kahn's Arena. Kahn announces the tournament and the bracket. The matches for the first round are set up as so:

Liu Kang VS. Reptile

Johnny Cage VS. Jade

Smoke VS. Shang Tsung

Sub-Zero VS. Baraka

Jax VS. Kitana

Scorpion VS. Kintaro

Kung Lao will join in and fight the winner of the "Sub-Zero VS. Baraka" fight, while Mileena will join and fight the winner of the "Liu Kang VS. Reptile" fight. This when Scorpion's return is revealed to the heroes and the fact Raiden will not be competing. When asked, he states that his powers are considerably weakened in Outworld so there is no point in him competing. He also expresses his interest in seeing their performance in Outworld, especially Liu Kang's.

Scorpion and Kuai Liang have a stare down, neither saying a single word, but there looks speak volumes. The tournament will begin in 2 days, with the heroes being escorted to their quarters. The heroes discuss their opponents and wonder if Kahn plans on pulling any sort of treachery, but Raiden strikes that down as that would break the rules. Johnny notices Jax seems to be lost in thought, and the two talk about the death of Beran and Sonya. Beran had been Jax's partner for 7 years and they were good friends, now Jax knows how Sonya felt when Daniel was killed. Liu Kang and Kung Lao join them, and the four bond.

2 days later, the Outworld Tournament begins. The first match is Liu Kang VS. Reptile in the Arena. Reptile boasts about his strength has increased tenfold since the Island and that he will defeat the Champion. Unfortunately for the Saurian, Kang has done so as well, even more. This match displays how much stronger Kang he has become over the past year. He even shows off a new move, the Bicycle Kick. Liu Kang easily defeats Reptile, starting the tournament on a bad note for Outworld. We see Kitana seems particularly interested in the monk, while Shao Kahn thinks this might not be as easy as he thinks. The next two matches montage by, Johnny narrowly defeating Jade and Tsung easily beating Smoke.

We then cut to the Armory where Sub-Zero and Baraka have their match. Scorpion watches the fight from the shadows, wondering what undead powers he has. The battle ends with Sub-Zero's victory and he called out to finish Baraka. He choses Mercy, much to Scorpion's shock. The Sub-Zero he knew would never spare an enemy like Baraka. That's when Liu Kang, who noticed Scorpion's presence, informs the spectre that Sub-Zero is Kuai Liang, Bi-Han's younger brother. This seems to trouble the spectre, who disappears in a ball of fire.

Back in the Netherrealm, Scorpion is deeply troubled. Not only did he plans on killing an innocent man, but he took that man's brother away from him. He wanted to regain his honor and avenge himself, but all Scorpion has done was bring guilt and dishonor to himself. We leave the spectre for now, deep in thought.

At the tournament, we return to the Living Forest where Jax and Kitana have just started their match. Jax's strength and speed give Kitana some trouble, but Kitana's superior technique helps balance things out. Briggs loses the edge when Kitana stabs him in the leg with her razor fans, and he is eventually defeated. She spares Jax's life, much to Shao Kahn's disapproval.

Everyone returns to the Arena for the final match of the first round, Scorpion versus Kintaro. Kang, Lao, and Johnny all think that Scorpion has a fairly good chance against him, having been impressed by Scorpion's performance at the Mortal Kombat Tournament. Raiden isn't so sure about that, saying he has heard many stories of Kintaro's might. Suddenly, Shang Tsung appears next to them in the audience, chuckling and saying that they are greatly underestimating Kintaro's skill. The fight begins, Scorpion starting off by launching his spear right at Kintaro. Kang cheers, only to grow silent as Kintaro easily grabs the chain as it hurtles towards him. He grabs the spearhead and crushes it into dust with just his hand. The spectre then tries shooting his hellfire at Kintaro, who just easily disappates it with his own projectile. No matter what Scorpion does, it fails to leave much impact on Kintaro. The fight goes on for a while, with Scorpion getting more and more exasperated. He performs a Teleport Punch, that hits Kintaro cleanly in the head. Kang, Lao, and Johnny shout in joy at the great hit. It seems like Kintaro is about to fall...but he stops himself just in time. Afterwards, he hits Scorpion with a powerful uppercut that launches him 20 feet in the air. He falls to the ground and fails the 10 count, ending the battle in Kintaro's victory. He yells out to the Earthrealm warriors, calling out Liu Kang in particular, that Goro was nothing compared to him. Outworld will be winning this tournament! With the first round of matches over, half of each side has been eliminated so the tournament could still go either way. The warriors are dismissed, with Kang, Lao, and Johnny hanging their heads in worry.

Back in their quarters, the kombatants injuries are being treated by Raiden. They discuss the tournament so far, when in walks Kitana. Everyone is ready to fight, but Liu Kang stops them to hear her out. Kitana reveals that she is not actually Shao Kahn's daughter, that she is an Edenian. Nearly 10,000 years ago, Kahn conquered and merged Edenia with Outworld, killing her father in the process. She wants to overthrow Shao Kahn and find a way to restore Edenia. Johnny and some of the others are unwilling to trust her, so he asks if there is something she can do to prove herself. That's when Jax gets an idea.

We then find the heroes traveling through Shao Kahn's Palace with Kitana. Turns out the idea Jax had was to for Kitana to help them find Sonya and Kano. She explains that the two were found and captured by Shang Tsung's army, taken here to the Palace. As they are walking, Liu Kang asks Kitana how she came to be raised by Shao Kahn. After Edenia was conquered, Kahn took Kitana as his daughter and her mom as his wife. Kitana was very young so, she had no idea about her true identity. Several years ago, her and Mileena were working an assassin job in a faraway village. At that village, Kitana met a man who turned out to have been the Edenian Royal Family's Chancellor who had survived the Shao Kahn's conquest. He informed Kitana of her true past and she began planning for the day that she would overthrow Kahn.

As they head towards the cells where the two are captured, they are stopped by some guards, including Reptile and Mileena. Kitana fights Mileena, despite the latter not wishing to fight her sister. Kitana leads Mileena away from the fight, while the heroes fight off the guards. In the following scuffle, Kitana and Mileena crash into the Flesh Pits. The two notice Shang Tsung is there, as well as several tubes containing...Mileenas?

Tsung reveals that Mileena is not Kitana's twin sister, but is actually a clone made by Shao Kahn decades ago. Kitana refuses to believe that, remembering Mileena as the two grew up together. Only for Tsung to inform her that Kahn altered her and Jade's memories to make them believe Mileena was always around. This whole mess flusters Kitana, who runs off. Meanwhile, Mileena collapses crying. She asks why they did this, with Tsung saying that Kahn always knew Kitana might betray him and had Mileena created to one day kill and replace her. To sell the deception of being her twin sister, Mileena was given memories to make her think that the relationship was genuine. Tsung departs, leaving Mileena confused and in denial.

Kitana rejoins the heroes, who have finished battling the guards and Reptile. The head down and arrival at a cell, containing Sonya and Kano. Jax and Sonya have a touching moment, being so glad to see each other after a year. Johnny especially is happy to see her, having thought that her and Kano had perished back on the Island. Kano tells them they fell into an explosion of fire then, after a strange feeling, found themselves in a strange wasteland. They eventually discovered that they were in Outworld and spent the last year just trying to survive. The two were in the Living Forest when they were found and captured by Shang Tsung's men. Jax attempts to break down the cell door, only to be repelled by a mysterious force. Raiden examines and find that the cell is protected by a magic enchantment. Cage says it's no problem and that the Thunder God should easily be able to deal with it, but Raiden whacks him with his staff and shakes his head. Raiden says he will have to return to Earth to find a means to dispel the enchantment and departs, taking him out of the story for a bit. Jax promises Sonya that he'll be back, and tries to inform her of something but can't quite get the words out. Sonya presses him on it and he tells her of Beran's death. Blade comforts Jax about it, mirroring how Jax tried to comfort her over Daniel's death back in the Special Forces plotential.

We return to the Tournament, where the Quarter-Finals begin. The first battle is Liu Kang VS. Mileena at the Tower. Unlike the fight against Reptile, Mileena actually gives Kang a bit of a challenge. She hits Kang with her Soaring Sai and knocks him to the ground. Mileena jumps and attempts to stab him afterwards with her sais, but Liu Kang dodge rolls and sweep kicks her. She begins using her sais in close combat, but Kang manages to block her slashes with the gauntlets that Kung Lao had given him. The monk shows off another fancy move, a cartwheel uppercut that KOs Mileena. In private, Kahn slaps Mileena for her failure and Tsung informs Kahn about Kitana discovering the truth and her treachery. With the tournament currently in progress, he orders them to hold off on taking care of Kitana and wait to strike after the Quarter-Finals conclude. He turns to Mileena and tells her that her time will come soon enough. Mileena asks what he means, with him replying "To become my one and only daughter."

The next match, Johnny Cage VS. Shang Tsung, takes place in the Kombat Tomb. Kang and Lao warn Cage that Tsung is an all-powerful sorcerer and even stronger then he was at the Island. Johnny overall seems to have gotten more serious in his fighting, a sign of development as he becomes a more noble hero. He still possesses his jokes and snark, but knows when to take things seriously now.

Kombat begins, and Tsung demonstrates his awesome power. He morphs into Liu Kang, surprising Johnny. Cage finds himself reluctant to hurt his friend, even if it isn't really him. He gets over it and regains his mojo, but Tsung's abilities are shown to far outclass Johnny. Tsung morphs into different fighters, using all their ability to deliver a brutal beatdown against Cage. For the last one, Tsung transforms into Johnny himself and shadow kicks him. Shang Tsung prepares to finish Johnny Cage, by uppercutting him into the ceiling spikes. As he flies in the air, Liu Kang runs and Flying Kicks, Johnny to prevent this. Kang helps Cage up as Tsung expresses his disapproval and nearly attacks Liu Kang. He repels Tsung's attack and tells him to wait for the Semi. Tsung expresses how he can't wait to fight Kang once more, this time HE will win.

The next two matches aren't focused on as much. Kung Lao VS. Sub-Zero is a pretty even match and we get to see Kung Lao's skill and abilities since we haven't seen him fight that much yet. We get an idea that he is very skilled warrior and strategic fighter, the match ending with his victory. Kitana easily loses to Kintaro, ending the Quarter-Finals. The Semi-Final matches will be Liu Kang VS. Shang Tsung and Kung Lao VS. Kintaro.

Kang, Lao, and Johnny are walking through the Palace following the round, discussing the tournament and wondering if Raiden has found a way to free Sonya and Kano yet. Staring out a window, they notice Kitana wandering through the Wastelands. They question what she is doing, Liu Kang noticing from her face and body language that seems confused and troubled. Kung Lao spots Jade, Baraka, and Mileena rushing after her and Liu Kang concludes that Kitana is in danger, so the three make their way out to help her.

We hear Kitana's thoughts, remembering the Chancellor's words and the truth she learned at the Flesh Pits. She hears sounds of someone approaching, turning to face Jade, Baraka, and Mileena. Kitana questions them on why they are here, Baraka revealing to her that Kahn's knows about her treachery and they are here to capture her. Although Baraka is ready to fight, Jade seems reluctant and Mileena appears to still be in shock from the Flesh Pits incident. The three begin fighting Kitana, who is overwhelmed by the three. Thankfully, Kang, Lao, and Johnny arrive to help. Kitana fights Mileena, Kang and Lao fight Baraka, while Johnny fights Jade. Kitana calls Mileena an unholy abomination and refuses to acknowledge her as her sister, which hurts Mileena deep down. On one hand, she doesn't want to betray her emperor, but she doesn't want to hurt a person that she still views as her sister. Eventually, Mileena's loyalty to Shao Kahn wins out and she begins fighting proper.

During their fight, Baraka boasts about how those two will be easy to defeat as monks are easy prey. This makes Kang and Lao realize Baraka was the one who led the massacre of their temple. The two monks fly into a fury and curb-stomp Baraka, Lao slashing Baraka's chest with his hat.

The two assassins fight very evenly and it doesn't seem like either will lose anytime soon. Kitana decides to take drastic measures and goads Mileena into rushing her. Mileena, growing crazier by the moment, approaches rapidly. Once she gets close, Kitana pulls out her fan and decapitates Mileena. This causes the others to stop fighting and an eerie silence goes on for a long while. Baraka and Jade decide to retreat to inform Shao Kahn about what has happened. Liu Kang runs over to Kitana, who is staring at Mileena's corpse. She explains the truth about her and Liu Kang shares some words with her, helping develop their future relationship. He helps her up and Kitana tells them she won't be going back to the Arena. With her killing Mileena, she is now an enemy of Kahn. She'll have to go into hiding and prepares to leave, but not before thanking Kang and friends for their help. Kitana pecks Kang on the cheek, much to the monk's surprise, and she leaves. Johnny comments on this, wondering what Kang has that he doesn't, with Lao responding "A personality that isn't like sanding paper."

The next day, we return to the Arena where the Semi-Finals begin. Liu Kang and Shang Tsung, rivals and enemies, start battling each other. Shang Tsung is convinced that his victory is inevitable thanks to his rejuvenation and empowerment, but is caught off guard by just how much Kang has improved over the last year. Kang also points out that, you know, he wasn't exactly in fighting condition last time so he didn't know what it was like to actually fight him at full strength anyway. Tsung begins using more of his magic and goes all out, giving Liu Kang some serious trouble. Kang can't even get close to attack Tsung and he won't be able to dodge forever. He continues avoiding his moves and examines him closely, when he notices something. For those who don't know, the MK2 prequel comic that his Skull Fireballs are creating from the life forces of the souls he's taken. Liu Kang notices that Tsung seems to be getting weaker and slower as he throws these, coming up with a plan. He goads Shang Tsung into throwing more of these, by taunting him and shooting his own fireballs at him. Liu Kang's taunts and mocking eventually get to Tsung, to the point that he throws a wave of ONE HUNDRED skull fireballs at Kang. He manages to narrowly jump over them and Tsung tries to throw more, but notices he needs a lot more energy to throw one. Tsung realizes too late that Liu Kang tricked him, and he is left vulnerable long enough for Kang to cartwheel uppercut Tsung, knocking him out. Thus, Liu Kang advances to the Finals, much to Kahn's irritation.

The next Semi begins shortly after. Kung Lao and Kintaro enter, to the cheers of the crowd. Liu Kang warns Kung Lao to be careful, while Lao telling him not to worry. If Kang took care of Goro, Lao can take care of Kintaro. The fight begins with Kung Lao throwing his hat at Kintaro, who just grabs it and tosses it back at Lao. It's thrown so fast, that Lao just barely dodges in time. He decides to replicate the strategy that Liu Kang used against Goro, attacking the head and legs. Unfortunately, attacking the legs reveal they are built much more than Goro's and he just ends up hurting himself. He avoid Kintaro's grab and Dive Kicks his head, knocking Kintaro to the ground. While down, Kung Lao uses hit hat to slash a cut across Kintaro's chest. This doesn't take him out of the fight, but it does make Kintaro pretty angry. The next several rounds involve the two attacking and dodging or blocking each other's attacks. Liu Kang and the others realizing they have vastly underestimated Kintaro's skill compared to Goro.

The end of the match was not pretty. Kung Lao swings to wide and leaves himself open, Kintaro punches him the grounds. He jumps into the air and Kung Lao realizes what's happening too late. Lao isn't able to fully get out of the way in time, leading to Kintaro to crush and break his legs upon landing. With his legs broken, Lao is ruled unable to continue and Kintaro is declared the winner. Kang and Johnny head out to help Lao, where Kintaro declares to Kang that Goro was pathetic and that he'll be a real challenge. Tomorrow, Outworld will win.

The others take Kung Lao back to their quarters and lay him down. While he rests, Liu Kang, Jax, Johnny, Sub-Zero, and Smoke talk about how strong Kintaro is and that Kang will have difficulty fighting him. As they are conversing, Raiden finally returns. He heals Kung Lao's legs and the group head back to the cells to free Sonya and Kano. However, once they arrive, they find the cells empty with Sonya and Kano nowhere to be seen. Jax fears that they were taken away to be killed, and they retreat in gloom.

Now we have the final match of the Outworld Tournament. Kintaro enters to the cheers of the crowd, Liu Kang enters to the jeers of the crowd except for his allies. As he and the others enter they see that Sonya and Kano have been chained up here, explaining what happened to them. The two stare each other down as Shao Kahn shouts, "FIGHT!" They circle around the arena, waiting for the other to make the first move. Liu Kang leaps forward, Kintaro shoots his fireball, which Kang ducks and jumps into Bicycle Kick that nails Kintaro. He counters with a massive punch that sends him flying. The two continue fighting, the battle being a long and full of great moves and maneuvers like the Goro fight. Liu Kang does a flaming flying kick to Kintaro's face for the final blow, winning the tournament and defending his title of Immortal Champion. At first, the crowd is silent, but ultimately celebrate Kang's victory, contrasting their jeers from earlier.

Shao Kahn is furious at their failure and jumps down into the arena, challenging Liu Kang. He accepts and the two begin fighting to the chants of the audience. While this is going on, Jax heads down to free Sonya and Kano. The other heroes join him as the Outworld warriors and Shang Tsung's guards attack them. All hell breaks loose, just like at the Island before. Jax, Johnny, and Lao work on unlocking Sonya and Kano's chains, and are almost struck down by Kintaro. Raiden quickly flies in and zaps Kintaro with a bunch of lighting, eventually making him explode. He then frees Sonya and Kano, who join the fight. Johnny and Sonya embrace, an indication of where their relationship will be heading in the future. During the battle, Sub-Zero is almost killed via acid spit from Reptile. Scorpion tackles him out of the way and kicks Reptile's butt. The spectre helps Sub-Zero up and asks for forgiveness, saying he made a mistake taking his brother from him. Kuai Liang is hesitant, but accepts for now. Scorpion says that from now on, he will protect him with his life to make up for his murder. Even Kitana returns, saving Kung Lao's life at one point.

Meanwhile, Liu Kang is fighting Shao Kahn and managing to keep up with him, but it's clear that Kang is at a disadvantage. Kahn is fast, with great reaction, making it difficult to land blows outside of counters. The Emperor's attacks are also extremely strong, Liu Kang almost being knocked out by his green arrow projectile. Kang attempt a fast flying kick, only for Shao Kahn to grab him out of it and toss him to the ground. He gets up, only for Kahn to immediately knock him back down with a shoulder charge. Kahn scoffs, having expected Earthrealm's Champion to actually be...good. He says he was wrong to view Liu Kang as a threat and summons his hammer, prepared to finish Kang. In his arrogance, Kahn brags about the destruction of the Shaolin Temples that he ordered and that the whole world will suffer as they did. Liu Kang's eyes suddenly flash with light as Kahn slams his hammer towards him...only to hit nothing but ground.

Liu Kang is standing up once more, obviously very angry. Kahn notices the fire in his eyes and realizes he probably just made a mistake. His words have sent Liu Kang into a fury, the monk proceeding to turn the tables and begins utterly trouncing Shao Kahn. He leaves no room for Kahn to breath, beating Kahn to an inch of his life. The Emperor falls to the ground and begs for mercy. Liu Kang, following his principles and beliefs, spares Shao Kahn and declares their battle over. He heads over to aide his friends, only for Kahn to get up and shoot some sort of dark grey energy ball at Kang. Raiden notices and shouts to Kang to turn around. Summoning a wave of fire, Liu Kang turns and redirects the energy back at the emperor, directly hitting Kahn. Shao Kahn suddenly begins turning to stone before exploding into pieces, much to Liu Kang's surprise and the surprise of everyone at the Arena.

Raiden quickly opens a portal and the heroes flee while Shang Tsung examines the remains of Kahn. He curses his emperor's failure and leaves to bring him back. He yells to them they still have a backup plan, which Raiden overhears. Before Liu Kang enters, Kitana thanks him for all he has done. He suggests she go with him to Earth, but she can't abandon her people. She promises that they'll meet again, embracing before Kang heads through the portal.

Back at the Wu Shi Academy, Kung Zhang and Kung Jin are working with monks from other temples to rebuild the place. They are sent flying when a portal opens up, that heroes enter from. Raiden makes sure everyone is through before he begins to close the portal. Sonya and Jax banter, before heading over to Kano since, you know, he's still a criminal so he should be arrested. Kano declares they won't get him and leaps back through the portal, just as Raiden closes it. Sonya laments Kano eluding capture once more, but Jax tells her that he has a feeling they will cross paths again in the future. The heroes celebrate Liu Kang's second victory over Outworld and the fact Earth is safe once more.

They host a service for the fallen shaolin with Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Bo Rai' Cho sharing some words about their brethren, particularly Master Wu. Rather then leave to continue his journey, Liu Kang decides to stick around for now and help rebuild. The other heroes depart, promising to come together if Outworld ever strikes again.

Sometime later, we find ourselves at Raiden's Sky Temple. Raiden thinks about the events of MK1 and this. He finds himself actually impressed at the mortals for overcoming Outworld twice, especially Liu Kang with his triumphs over Goro, Kintaro, Shang Tsung twice, and the Emperor himself. Raiden finally realizes there is more to these mortals then he originally came to believe and decides to watch over Liu Kang and the others. The story concludes with Raiden wandering outside his temple and viewing the sunset, wondering what is in store for the monk and the rest of Earth's warriors in the future.

Once more, there is an after credits scene. We are back in Outworld, shortly after the tournament's conclusion. Shang Tsung has revived Kahn from his death and apologizes for failing the Emperor. Kahn blames himself though, underestimating the Earthrealmers and Liu Kang. He declares he is done with attempting to take Earth through tournament battle and asks Tsung how much longer until "The Sindel Plan" is completed. Tsung responds they still have 2 years before the plan will be complete, so Kahn takes Tsung away to prepare...for invasion.

MK2 wasn't as fun to write as MK1, but I still enjoyed it. Having to write another tournament wasn't particularly interesting, which is why the matches there might seem not as detailed as MK1. Still, I made my attempts to flesh out MK2 while incorporating some new ideas. MK3 will conclude what I refer to as the "Outworld Trilogy", since these titles are the ones most closely connected with Earth's struggle against them. MK3 also has a few interesting story details that we already know, and doesn't have a prequel comic I can use to help flesh things out, so I'll be going on those said details as well as the character bios and ending. I hope you guys have been enjoying these, and I'll have MK3 up as soon as I finish and edit it!


	5. WP: Mortal Kombat 3 (Part 1)

**WELCOME TO "WASTED PLOTENTIAL: MORTAL KOMBAT 3"**

We're gonna wrap up the Outworld Trilogy with today's Wasted Plotential; _Mortal Kombat 3_! I was looking forward to writing this more than _MK2_, mainly because I felt like I had a lot more to work with then the former. There is actually surprisingly a lot to this game and I got quite a few new ideas that you'll see in my interpretation. Because of that, I shall be splitting this into two parts, they'll go up the same day but not the same time. There will be short break after the _MK4_ chapter, which will conclude what I refer to as the "Tobias Era" of the series. Don't worry, it won't be too long, I can guarantee that. I have an idea of what I'll be doing for the games afterward, I even already have a basic outline for the Reboot Trilogy Wasted Plotentials, However, let's not concern ourselves with those just yet. For now, let us begin this Wasted Plotential on _Mortal Kombat 3_.

The story begins with Jax recapping the events of _MK2_ to the leaders of the US Army, including Marshall. Him and Sonya have returned to the Special Forces HQ, following the conclusion of that storyline, where Sonya's rescue was celebrated by their fellow officers. After the party, Jax and Sonya decided to explain everything that happen to the US Army leaders in order to convince them to set up a squad to protect Earth from other realms. Due to a lack of evidence, the leaders disregard their story and deny the request. Sonya and Jax are noticeably upset at this and two decide to make preparations, in case Outworld attacks again.

Two years have passed since Liu Kang's victory at the Outworld Tournament. We start off at a remote mountain village in Outworld. It turns out this village is home to several Edenians, who scattered off into various settlements after Kahn conquered their realm. Kitana is now living here, in hiding after she killed Mileena and betrayed Kahn during the events of _MK2_. She is telling the kids some Edenian folk tales when Kitana's inside man on Shao Kahn arrives, handing her an important scroll. They have recently discovered what Kahn has been up to since the Outworld Tournament, and she's not gonna like it. Kitana opens the scroll and quietly reads it, eventually she starts trembling and gasps. The kids ask her what's wrong and she says she has to leave for a while. When the man asks where he is going, she tells him that he needs to find a way to Earth and FAST. She suddenly hears a voice and a mysterious man, later revealed to be Nightwolf, appears and whisks Kitana away.

Meanwhile, Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung are at work in the deepest chambers of Kahn's Palace. We hear the screams and cries of Sindel's soul, before she mysterious teleports away. Tsung informs Kahn that he'll find Sindel on Earth, in New York City. Opening a portal, Kahn finds he can actually enter it and crosses through with an army of Centaurs in tow.

Back on Earth, we find ourselves at the Wu Shi Academy. Thanks to the efforts of Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Kung Zhang, Kung Jin, and the other monks, the temple is on the road to recovery. We get some amusing banter between Kang and Lao as they are working on the place. Suddenly, Liu Kang notices the wind pick up and it starts to furiously blow. Zhang points to the sky, which is turning blood red. Kang wonders just what is going on when him and Lao are suddenly blinded by a flash of green light, knocking them to the ground. When they regain their senses, they find the bodies of their fellow monks and family drained, pale white. Kang notices all their souls are flying into the sky, all heading somewhere. Kang and Lao are further confused when a mysterious native warps in front of them, out of a wave of blue energy. He introduces himself as Nightwolf and that the two must come with him. The monks, of course, want answers but Nightwolf just teleports them away.

The three find themselves in Nightwolf's camp alongside Sonya, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Johnny Cage, Jax, Raiden, Kitana, and two people they do not recognize. Kang and Lao want to know what they are all doing here, with Nightwolf replying that he has brought them together due to the current crisis.

First, we get the stories of the other characters and what they were doing in lead up to what happened. Sonya was visiting family in her hometown of Austin and was dropping off her brother to his school when the Red Sky happened. Johnny was talking with producers about his upcoming _Mortal Kombat II_ film. Jax was back at the Special Forces HQ, testing out some new bionic arm plates that enhance his strength. Him and Sonya had been training for the return for Outworld while also having Fyodor Mikhailov, who had defected to the US after the events of _Special Forces_, develop new tools and weapons to kombat them. That's when the Red Sky happened and Jax was left all alone in the HQ. The two figures introduce themselves as Kurtis Stryker and Sandman. Stryker is a SWAT officer who was fighting off a Black Dragon robbery and Sandman, a well known vigilante, jumped in to help them. The Red Sky event occured and they were transported here by Nightwolf, along with everyone else. Both Sub-Zero and Scorpion remain silent, just telling them it's a long story. Nightwolf explains that he foresaw all this several weeks ago, informing Raiden about it. Raiden asks Kitana to step forward and she explains that Outworld is behind this and how. Time for flashbacks!

Approximately 10,000 years ago, Shao Kahn conquered her realm of Edenia and merged it with Outworld. He took not only her, but he also took Queen Sindel and forced her to marry him. In despair over the death of her husband, her realm, and having to marry Kahn, Sindel committed suicide. Angered by this, Kahn captured her soul and held her as part of a back-up plan. They spent the last 10 years resurrecting Sindel, taiting her with evil to revive her not on Outworld, but Earth. In accordance with rules established by the Elder Gods, Kahn was allowed to cross the dimensional barriers to rescue his wife. However, Kahn is taking advantage of this loophole by invading Earth with his armies to take it by force. To try and ensure no one can oppose him, Kahn summoned a Soulnado that stripped all of humanity of their souls. The reason they are safe is because their souls are protected by the Elder Gods, having been chosen to defend the Earth from the Emperor. However, Raiden warns that their souls are safe but their lives are not. To make matters worse, Kahn has already realized this and sent out Extermination Squads to kill anyone who survived the Soulnado. He even has already begun merging Outworld with Earth. Johnny steps in, saying that Liu Kang beat the Emperor once, he can beat him again. But Raiden reminds Johnny that the souls that Shao Kahn has gained has made him so powerful, he isn't sure that anyone can beat him now. Raiden decides to visit the Heavens and make an appeal to the Elder Gods, taking Liu Kang with him as he thinks the Immortal Champion might have some swaying power. The two depart as the others discuss how exactly they can stop Kahn, also revealing during this discussion that Johnny and Sonya have officially become a couple. All of a sudden, a horn sounds and one of Nightwolf's tribesmen runs up and informs them that an Extermination Squad is here. The group is soon surrounded by the Centaurs and a fight breaks out.

Liu Kang and Raiden arrive in the Heavens, at the stairs leading up to the Chamber of the Elder Gods. They are greeted by Fujin, who has already spoken to them about the matter and tells Raiden that they won't like what they have to say. He decides to see them anyway and we see Liu Kang and Raiden enter the Chambers, the Elder Gods appearing in a flash. Raiden argues that what Kahn is doing violates the rules of Mortal Kombat and that they should stop them. The Elder Gods refuse, saying that the ancient rules decree that Shao Kahn is allowed on Earth considering the circumstances surrounding Sindel. Raiden points out that Liu Kang has bested Outworld twice in tournaments, and that the mortals have earned their generation of peace. He appeals to Cetrion, the Goddess of Virtue, but she is unmoved by his words. Liu Kang then gives his own impassioned speech, but it falls on deaf ears and the Elder Gods declare that they will not get involved, and neither will the lesser gods. Raiden asks what he has to do to join the Earthrealm warriors, with the Elders responding that he must give up his godhood. His powers will be weakened and he will lose his immortality, but Raiden accepts this. The Elders strip Raiden's godhood before disappearing in another flash. Liu Kang remarks on his surprise at Raiden's actions, reminding him of how he acted during the events of _MK1_. This is when Raiden tells him about how he realized how much of a jerk he had gotten towards mortals over the many years. The efforts and compassion of Liu Kang and the others reminded him how much more there is to mortals then they appear. Liu Kang offers his hand in friendship, this being the point where the two officially become friends and Raiden truly adopts his personality from _MK2 _onwards, with Raiden starting to mentor and train him.

Back at the camp, the heroes are fighting off the army and clearly having trouble doing so. Things get worse when Motaro shows up and begins fighting them. Sonya is nearly impaled by Motaro, but Johnny pushes her out of the way and gets stabbed instead. Raiden and Liu Kang arrive just in time to witness, Motaro deciding to retreat once he sees the two. They run over to Cage who tries to keep things light, before passing away. Sonya and Kang cry over the murder of Johnny Cage, while the others hold a moment of silence.

A few hours later, the group have built a grave and buried Johnny. Sonya talks about how they were dating and some of the good times they had together. Liu Kang tells the others that they must head to New York and defeat Shao Kahn, for Johnny and for all the people whose lives Kahn has claimed.

Raiden decides to teleport the heroes to the city...only they don't actually end up there. They instead find themselves in Harriman State Park, several miles away from the city. Raiden tries to teleport them again, but nothing happens. He realizes not only did his powers weaken from his godhood being taken away, but also the merge. As mentioned in _MK2_, Raiden's powers are weakened in Outworld. That means as the realms merge more and more, Raiden's power will decrease more as well. Since Nightwolf can't seem to do it either now, that means they must make the rest of the journey on foot. We learn that Shao Kahn's Palace has spawned in the heart of Brooklyn and the heroes begin their quest to New York City.

Speaking of Shao Kahn's Palace, we head over to there now. We finally see Sindel in person, wandering the palace of her own accord when her bodyguard Sheeva arrives. They talk for a bit, before Sindel is escorted to Kahn's Throne Room, based off where you fight him in _MK3_. Also there is Shang Tsung, Jade, Reptile, Motaro, and Baraka. They kneel before Shao Kahn, who informs them of the heroes heading towards the city. They cannot be allowed to reach his Palace and they must show them no mercy. He tells Motaro to kill Liu Kang and Raiden, the two he believes are the greatest threat to his occupation of Earth. He also gives Reptile and Jade orders to capture Kitana for her treachery. The meeting is interrupted when, much to their shock, Mileena enters. Alongside her is a shadowy ninja who introduces himself as Noob Saibot. They pledge loyalty to Kahn, who is suspicious of Mileena's sudden return and the ninja. However, he needs as many warriors as he can right now, so he accepts them for now. Before sending them out, he introduces them to a newly rejuvenated, Ermac. After the conquest of Edenia, he created him out of the souls of warriors he had taken from the realms they conquered. Kahn has spent the last while strengthing Ermac with the new souls he gained. Ermac examines Shao Kahn's warriors and views them as weak compared to them. He pauses when he goes to look at Sindel, and she asks if anything is wrong. Ermac shakes his head and says it's nothing. Kahn orders his troops to mobilize, leaving Sindel, Sheeva, and Ermac with him. Kahn appoints Ermac as an additional bodyguard alongside Sheeva. As the three of them depart, a mysterious figure asks Kahn for permission to go after that "Special Forces baby", which Kahn allows.

Back with the heroes, they have arrived at East Bronx after a largely uneventful trip. Kung Lao comments how the journey has been a breeze so far as they get a view of Shao Kahn's Palace in the far distance. Kang comments on the Outworld structures that have been popping up, with Raiden estimating that the merger is about 30% complete. Suddenly, they are attacked by the villains, alongside Motaro's Extermination Squads. The heroes put up a good fight, but are horribly outnumbered. In desperation, Raiden uses his lighting to cause a massive explosion. Through some means, this separates the heroes and they are unable to regroup. Raiden shouts for them to meet at the Brooklyn Bridge and the heroes quickly make a break for it while the villains recover. Tsung tells them to find the groups and end them, each of the villains going after one of the groups. The heroes are split up as follows:

Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Kitana

Sandman, Stryker, Jax, Sonya

Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Nightwolf, Raiden

Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Kitana make their way through Manhattan. Along the way, they sneak by some of the Extermination Squad soldiers, but do end up fighting a few. They end up in Central Park where they spot a Bell Tower, obviously one of the Outworld structures. As they approach it, they hear the sounds of footsteps. The three decide to head into the Bell Tower and wait for them to pass. It's then shown that the footsteps belong to Mileena, Baraka, and three Tarkatan soldiers. Baraka swears he could have heard some people around here and notices Mileena suddenly intently focusing on the Bell Tower. She points to it, telling them that Kitana is there with the two monks and they begin trying to knock down the door. Shocked, the three flee up the Bell Tower as they break in, with the Outworlders quickly catching up. Liu Kang and Kung Lao fight Baraka and the three tarkatan soldiers, while Kitana, still in shock over seeing Mileena alive again, runs further up the tower. Mileena follows her to the very top and confronts Kitana. She reveals that she was given a psychic link that allows her to see all of Kitana's thoughts. Kitana assumes that Shao Kahn was the one who revived her, but Mileena laughs at that assumption. She doesn't say who it was exactly, just telling her that she's now working for a much higher power and Kitana will meet him...once she's dead! Mileena has the advantage, having been empowered by both Shao Kahn and whoever brought her back. It's also clear that Mileena has gone pretty much insane after the revelations of her creation in _MK2_ and her murder. Meanwhile, the two monks have dispatched the three generic tarkatans leaving just Baraka. Kung Lao remarks how a vile person like Baraka should have died back at the Outworld Tournament, for his crimes against the Shaolin. Baraka just mocks the monks as pacifist, weaklings who put too much faith in toothless gods. As you can imagine, this just makes Liu Kang and Kung Lao angry. The two trounce Baraka and he slumps to the floor. He curses out and swears that he will defeat them someday. Kung Lao just removes his hat and walks towards Baraka. Liu Kang tries to stop him, but doesn't get to him in time as Kung Lao slices Baraka in half. Kang yells at Lao for committing murder who justifies it by pointing out how Baraka massacred the temples so he deserves death, but they don't have time to argue as they hear Kitana getting beaten up by Mileena and go to help. This whole thing would make the monks feel unease and tension towards one another for the rest of the storyline.

Mileena has the upper hand in the fight right now, it seems like she is ready to finish her. However, Mileena lets her guard down, which lead Kitana to uppercutting her into the hole in the center of the tower, and she falls all the way to the bottom. Liu Kang and Kung Lao arrive, helping her up and Kang tends to her wounds. We have a bit of character building between Liu Kang and Kitana, that helps build their relationship. The three make their way out of the Bell Tower, sneak past some more Centaurs, ultimately arriving at the Brooklyn Bridge.

The three tarkatans regain their senses and honor Baraka's death. They locate Mileena, who is just barely alive from her fall. They take her back to Shao Kahn's Palace and the Emperor heals Mileena back to full health. He then slaps her for once more failing her, Reptile and Jade will have to pick up her slack. Sindel feels Kahn shouldn't be so harsh on the poor girl, which Kahn scoffs at. Mileena is sent to her quarters, clearly upset by her failure. Sindel, who dragged Ermac and Sheeva along, enters her room and tries to lighten up Mileena. Through Sindel's thoughts, it's revealed that she finds some sort of comfort in Mileena and Ermac that she can't quite explain. This leads to her becoming a sort of mother figure for Mileena that she never had and a companion of Ermac, which Sheeva just rolls along with. Mileena accepts her, feeling some sort of actual love that she hasn't felt in a long time. Ermac, however, feels disgust towards her for unknown reasons and avoids Mileena.

Sandman, Stryker, Jax, and Sonya are quitely walking through the Queens. Their journey has been relatively uneventful, so Sonya asks about Stryker and Sandman to end the silence and learn more about these new warriors. Kurtis isn't sure about it, since he barely knows them but Jax gets him to open up. Stryker reveals here that he was a former marine who fought in the Gulf War. He suffered some traumatic experiences during the conflict and he was honorably discharged after the War's conclusion. He moved to New York with his girlfriend afterwards and joined the NYPD in 1993. As his uniform indicates, he is now a member of the SWAT team and was in the middle of a raid when the Soulnado struck. Sonya then asks Sandman to them about himself, but he quietly declines. He then walks a bit ahead of the other three and Sonya wonders what's wrong. Kurtis mentions what he knows about Sandman, that he is a vigilante and was actually joined in on the previously mentioned raid. He even tried to arrest Sandman, since vigilantism is illegal, but the Soulnado stuff got in the way with that. They were attacked by the Extermination Squads when Nightwolf showed up, leading to them being brought to his homeland. Jax seems to be lost in thought, which the two notice and asks what's on his mind. Jax replies that it's nothing, but his thoughts reveal he knows exactly who Sandman is and that Sonya should figure it out soon enough.

All of a sudden, they spots a large van swerve towards them. The back door opens revealing...tarkatans who open fire on them with tommy guns. The four quickly hide behind some debris, questioning on where Outworld got such firepower. The barrage of bullets stop because the tarkatans wasted all their ammo, so the four counterattack and easily dispatch them, with Sandman showing off his impressive hook sword kombat. Sandman angrily questions one of the tarkatans on where they got these weapons, revealing they were given to Shao Kahn by none other then Kano. Jax and Sonya are naturally shocked by this, having thought he had likely been killed in Outworld at some point over the last 2 years.

We then cut to the outside of a large Bank, where some centaurs and tarkatans are guarding the entrance. According to the one they interrogated in the previous scene, Kano is at the bank and is using it as a secret weapon warehouse. Kurtis asks how Sandman knows Kano, but he ignores him. It's clear to Jax and Sonya that he has an intense hatred of Kano and they discuss how they are going to get into the Bank. They then notice Sandman has gone, having snuck up to the tarkatans and centaurs, immediately incapacitating them all in a sneak attack with his swords. The three follow Sandman inside, who just starts destroying all the weapons and ammos they can find. The others join in on destroying them when Stryker comes across stairs leading down into the Bank's basement where he can hear voices. He calls out to the others and they head down. In the basement they see some Black Dragon goons fiddling around with some sort of fancy machine. The four are spotted and the goons approach them, ready to fight. Kano (Now in his _MK3_ look) reveals himself with a quip and they turn around to find him at the base of the stairs with some tarkatans and Black Dragon goons. Outnumbered, the group are taken and tied up next to the mysterious machine. Sonya questions how Kano could possibly still be alive considering the two of them barely survived a single year in Outworld together. We then get a flashback, with Kano narrating.

After he jumped back through the portal to the Arena, Kano led a live of thievery and pillaging throughout Outworld. He was eventually captured and brought to Shao Kahn, who was going to execute him for his crimes. Kano convinced Kahn to spare him by swearing loyalty to Kahn. After proving his worth, he was made the weapons instructor and procurer. He had spent the last several months having his fellow Black Dragon bring weapons to Outworld in secret, training Kahn's followers in how to use them.

Sonya calls Kano a traitor and can't believe he would do this after helping them at the Island and the Outworld Tournament. Kano scoffs and tells her, that in this world, you have to do anything it takes to save your own skin. "Isn't that right, Kabal?" he addresses Sandman, much to the shock of Sonya. Kano reveals that Sandman is actually Kabal, who used to be one of the Black Dragon's best operatives and mocks Sonya for not figuring it out sooner. Kano then says she won't have much time to question it, they are about to be blown sky high. Turns out the mysterious machine is a bomb, that he sets to go off in 20 minutes. It isn't an ordinary bomb either, thanks to Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn's power, this bomb is powerful enough to destroy ALL of Queens in one big explosion. He activates it and parts with to the Rooftop, where the escape helicopter will be picking them up. He cackles wildly as him and the others head out.

Sonya can't believe that Sandman is really Kabal, asking Jax about it. Jax reveals to them he knew the entire time, the unique hook swords and voice were a dead giveaway. Stryker asks who this Kabal guy is and Sonya is about to explain, when Kabal opens up.

He was once a criminal, a cutthroat. Trained in these hook swords from a young age, he entered the underground fighting scene. This led to him fighting in the Black Dragon's Street Fight Club and he eventually caught Kano's eye. He joined the gang and soon became Kano's right-hand man due to his skill and ruthlessness. Sonya and Jax chime in to tell them about their encounters with Kabal in _Special Forces_. As for why he wears this mask and how he left, it all starts one, warm day in 1989. The Black Dragon were robbing a bank in Seattle, when things went really bad. Long story short, a miscalculation when opening the vault led to the building to burst into flames. Most of the others escaped, while Kabal, Kano, and Jarek stayed behind to grab as much loot as they could. Jarek fled, him and Kano were just about to flee as well when part of the ceiling collapsed. The debris landed Kabal and pinned him on the ground. He pleaded for Kano's help….and he just grabbed Kabal's bags of money and escaped. Kabal passed out soon after and later awoke at Black Dragon's Seattle hideout, with this mask and respirator. Turns out the other Black Dragon were kinda peeved that Kano abandoned Kabal, so he went back to get him after the fired died down. Surprisingly, Kabal was still alive but heavily injured. His body suffered horrible burns and scars, as the others can see, while his respiratory system was so screwed up, they outfited him with a respirator just to get the necessary breathing needed to live. Without it, he would die within 10 minutes. Kano tried to play all sad and apologetic, but this incident made Kabal realize just how much of an ass Kano was and how much of an ass he was. Upon reflection, he realized just how horrible of a human being he's been and thought about all the people that were ruined like him. He deserted the gang and has spent the last 6 years traveling the States fighting injustice and taking down any and all Black Dragon operatives he can.

Sonya mentions how she can understand his intense hatred of Kano, remindiing Kabal of how her partner was killed by Kano. The two talk and seem to bond somewhat. Until Stryker reminds them...you know, bomb, all of Queens is gonna get destroyed. Jax summons all his strength and manages to burst the ropes off. Kurtis and Jax are gonna work on deactivating the bomb, while Sonya and Kabal go take care of Kano before he escapes.

On the rooftop, Kano is growing impatient as the helicopter should be here by now. Kabal, in anger, goes a little berserk and kills the goons until only Kano, him, and Sonya remain. Kano mocks them as "the two broken birds that found each other" and they will not defeat them. Kabal and Sonya charge at Kano, only to be easily countered with some impressive moves. As it turns out, one of the things he did while working for Shao Kahn, was get personal training from Kahn's best warriors, that he is no longer the runt he was when they fought at Shang Tsung's Island. The two fight, but Kano outmatches them and it seems like they are beat. Sonya realizes that they are letting their feelings of anger get the best of them. The two calm down and work together, managing to give Kano a run for his money. Kabal manages to deliver one of his hook swords straight into Kano's right soldier, who responds by stabbing him in the elbow with one his knifes. He punches Kabal out, leaving just Sonya to deal with him.

In the basement, we get a bit of a humorous interlude as Jax and Stryker are working on disabling the bomb. Stryker asks if Jax has any experience in defusing bombs, telling him that he just knows it from the movies and asks if he does. Stryker says no, he's SWAT not Bomb Squad. Jax then questions if they know what they are doing AT ALL, to which Stryker says no but they have no choice. He asks if he should cut the green or yellow wire, with Jax face palming and claiming they are so doomed.

Kano throws Sonya towards the edge of the roof and is ready to be done with her for good, even telling her to say hi to Daniel for him. Sonya slumps and proclaims herself defeated, just asking Kano to end her already. He walks over to her and grabs Sonya by the hair, getting out a knife. Suddenly, Sonya uses her trademark leg grab and gets him by the neck. She then tosses Kano right off the roof, ripping part of her hair in the process. Kano's screams are cut short as he thuds to the ground. Sonya helps up Kabal and they quickly head to check on Jax and Stryker. It's been more complicated than they thought and only 5 minutes remain before explosion. They show the interior to Sonya and Kabal, which just looks like a super complicated mess of dials, wires, and gizmos. Kabal decides to take care of it by just tearing into it with his hooks swords, despite the objections of the others. Humorously, this deactivates the bomb and the group breathe a sigh of relief. The four head out and notice that Kano's body doesn't seem to be anywhere. They decide to dismiss it for now and continue on, eventually arriving at the Brooklyn Bridge.

**TO BE CONCLUDED IN PART II**


	6. WP: Mortal Kombat 3 (Part 2)

Back at the Palace, Sheeva is on break while Ermac watches over Sindel. She witnesses some Centaurs arguing and insulting the Shokan. We get some idea of the tension and hatred the Centaurs and Shokan have towards one another. Sheeva is on her way back to Sindel, when she is stopped by Shang Tsung. He has something important to tell her and takes her to the Portal Room. Tsung opens a portal and out walks a shokan named Durak. He collapses, with many wounds and scars across his body. Sheeva goes to help, asking what's wrong. Durak tells her that the Centaurs and Tarkatans have led an assault on the Shokan, under the backing of Shao Kahn himself. Before he can say anymore, Durak succumbs to his wounds. Tsung tells Sheeva that the Shokan wishes to inform Sheeva about Kahn's treachery. Sheeva grabs Tsung, angry to the point where she is ready to kill Tsung unless he tells her more about the supposed treachery. It seems as though Kahn has gotten fed up with the Shokan, after Goro and Kintaro's failures in tournament battle. The Centaurs pled loyalty, in return for aiding them in their battles against the Shokan. Based on what he's seen, Kahn took up that offer. Sheeva is seething with rage and barrels out of the room, Tsung following with a curious smile.

Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Nightwolf, and Raiden are in Long Island City. The latter two are discussing Kahn's Soulnado, wondering if they'll have enough power to get rid of it and free humanity's souls. Raiden remarks he doesn't know much about Soulnados, having only heard old myths and tales about them. Nightwolf says that he has had years of experience in the nature of souls, assuring the Thunder God that they will be able to handle it. Raiden turns Nightwolf's attention to Sub-Zero and Scorpion, noting the two have been talking about something to each other for the last while. He tells Nightwolf that Sub-Zero did not always have that scar on his face and that he wore a Lin Kuei mask in the past. Raiden grows curious, thinking something must have went down after the Outworld Tournament. The two catch up to the ninjas as they begin to cut through a graveyard. Sub-Zero almost starts to tell them after Raiden and Nightwolf's questions, only for Scorpion to stop them. He notices something is off and carefully looks around. As he does, Lin Kuei cyborgs suddenly de-cloak and launch a surprise attack. Despite the strengths of the four, the cyborgs are quickly wearing them out and manage to counter a lot their attacks. That's when Cyrax, Sektor, and Cyber Smoke appear, boasting about how the Cyber Lin Kuei outmatches Earth's finest warriors. They turn to Sub-Zero, asking him if he now understand the benefits of the Cyber Initiative. Hang on Sub-Zero's face as we transition to a flashback.

Northern China, the Lin Kuei Temples. It is 2 weeks after the Outworld Tournament, Sub-Zero and Smoke just return following those events. The Grandmasters welcome them back and are greeted by Sektor. The Head Grandmaster informs the two that they have some wonderful news, escorting them to the Lin Kuei Labs. They are shown a prototype Lin Kuei cyborg, that Cyrax and a Lin Kuei scientist is working on. Smoke questions what they are doing to a fellow clansman, Sektor jumping in to explain it was his idea. The Lin Kuei have hardly evolved over the last few centuries, which led them into developing the Cyber Initiative. Combine the skills of an assassin with the powerful and invincible body of a machine. As they can tell, the Initiative is still in early development, shown by some bugs that the prototype cyborg has. Cyrax, sarcastically, asks the two "Isn't this the greatest achievement in Lin Kuei history?" leading Sub-Zero to angrily rant at Sektor and the Head Grandmaster. That this idea takes away from the identity and mystique of the Lin Kuei, he rejects this wholesale which Smoke agrees to. The Head Grandmaster tries to calm the two down, saying that isn't set in stone and they won't go through with it, if the results aren't fantastic. Him and Sektor leave, whispering to each other about how that is a big ol' lie.

A couple months later, Sub-Zero and Smoke notice Cyrax heading towards the lab and follow him. They witness the newest Cyborg model, worrying that the Initiative is closer to becoming reality. The two implore Cyrax to stop this madness, that the Initiative will strip them of everything that makes them Lin Kuei. Cyrax tells them that he has no choice. He was made one of the key workers in this project and the word of the Grandmasters is law. Smoke argues loyalty is not worth your individuality and that this project is inhuman. Cyrax clearly feels the same as the two, he just feels he has gone too far to change his mind now. He warns the two that things are nearly perfected, so they should get out of here while they still have a chance.

Not long after, Sub-Zero and Smoke are about to ditch the Lin Kuei when they are called to the lab by the Grandmasters. They decide not to go, only for Lin Kuei Cyborgs to show up and restrain them, bringing them to the lab. The Head Grandmaster reveals the Initiative is ready to go, showing them the newly cyberized Sektor and Cyrax. The two ninjas call them Grandmaster mad as they are loaded into the Cyberization Restraints. Just before the process begins, Sub-Zero destroys them with his ice power and frees Smoke. He uses a smoke bomb to blind the others and they escape the room. The Head Grandmaster sends all available Lin Kuei Cyborgs after them, nobody leaves the Lin Kuei without his word!

They get attacked on their way out, of course, but we get shown just how great of a team Sub-Zero and Smoke are. The duo have great chemistry and teamwork, which we see in how they use their moves together to take down the cyborgs in their way. They make their way to the gates of the Lin Kuei and manage to flee into the nearby woods. Sub-Zero and Smoke stop to rest, believing they have gotten away only to be beaten up by cloaked Sektor and Cyrax. They reveal themselves, showing off their superior skills and powers compared to the lesser Cyborgs. Sektor and Cyrax knock out Smoke, turning their attention to Sub-Zero. He puts up a good fight, getting his scar from Sektor in the process, but is no match for the two and is knocked to the ground. Cyrax shoots his Net to capture Sub-Zero, only for Smoke to regain consciousness and take the net for him. Sub-Zero tries to help, but Smoke creates a smokescreen and tells him to run. Once it clears, only Smoke remains. Sub-Zero has escaped, but at the cost of his friend.

He boards a ship to America, deciding to get as far as possible from his clan. He wonders if the stories of the noble and great Lin Kuei he was always told about during his years of training were a lie. Sub-Zero makes home in a small town in the most rural part of the country, adopting the alias of Michael Grimm. He gets a job as a mechanic to make ends meet and tries to live a normal life. Sub-Zero however continues training, hoping that one day he will have the strength he needs to overthrow his corrupt clan and save Smoke.

Shortly before Shao Kahn's invasion, Sub-Zero was at work when he was attacked by Cyrax, Sektor, and Cyber Lin Kuei warriors. After nearly 2 years, they had finally tracked him down and were ready to bring him back for cyberization. He was almost beaten, when Scorpion showed up. As established in _MK2_, he made him Kuai Liang's protector to pay for murdering his brother. The two are able to put up a good fight, until the Red Sky appears. The flash of green lights knocks them away and seems to inflict some sort of EMP-like effect on the Cybers. They flee from town during this, wondering what is going on before Nightwolf shows up and takes them away.

Sub-Zero is done flashbacking as he gets kicked in the face by Cyber Smoke. Since their priority is him, he runs off into the Temple nearby and Smoke follows. Smoke confronts Liang, telling him that he must surrender to the Lin Kuei for cyberization. Sub-Zero tries to get through to Smoke, we get a brief montage of how they met and some scenes demonstrating more of the friendships between the two while Sub-Zero gives a speech. He seems to fail as Smoke attacks him and we get a fight. Contrasting the flashback where the two used their powers in teamwork, we now see how they would use them against each other. Sub-Zero defeats Smoke, lamenting on what's happened to him. He is suddenly sneak attacked by Sektor, who takes advantage of Sub-Zero's weakened state. Smoke recovers just as Sektor defeats Sub-Zero and is shocked as Sektor is about to kill him. When questioned, Sektor reveals he was given orders to actually exterminate Kuai Liang, not capture him. Smoke seems conflicted as Sub-Zero tries one last time to convince Smoke to stop this. Sektor laughs at this, only to be speared right through the chest by Smoke. He helps Sub-Zero up and the two stand there awkwardly for a moment. Smoke tries to say something, but Sub-Zero just hugs him and thanks him.

Back outside, Nightwolf, Scorpion, and Raiden have taken about most of the Cyborgs. Sub-Zero and Smoke join in, helping finish off most of the remaining ones. Once Cyrax sees that Smoke has betrayed them and seemingly killed Sektor, he grabs Sektor's body and issues a retreat. Raiden is surprised to learn that it is Smoke and they tell the story to them off-screen. The five are shown walking through the city once more, we get a nice moment where Scorpion offers his help to Sub-Zero and Smoke to help take down the Cyber Lin Kuei when the time comes. They arrive at the Brooklyn Bridge, at about the same time as the Jax group. Spotting Liu Kang and the remaining heroes at the other end, they head over to catch up with them.

The heroes meet at the center of the Bridge, apparently having relayed all that happened during each of their trips to the Bridge. Raiden says that they need to find a place to hideout and plan for their assault on Shao Kahn's Palace, when a portal opens up. Out of the portal comes Motaro, Reptile, Jade, Shang Tsung, Noob Saibot, and a group of Extermination Squads. They have nowhere to run this time and a massive fight breaks out. Liu Kang fights Motaro, Kitana fights Reptile and Jade, Kung Lao fights Shang Tsung, Sub-Zero and Smoke fight Noob Saibot, while the remaining heroes fight the Extermination Squads.

Brief interlude back at the Palace, Sindel is trying to get Mileena and Ermac to hang out, but they have a mutual hatred of one another. All of a sudden, Sindel collapses after getting a vision. When she recovers, she explains that she saw herself on a throne alongside a man. In front of them, is Shao Kahn. The mysterious man grabs a sword and attacks Kahn, the vision ending there. Mileena thinks they should tell Kahn about this, but Ermac immediately shoots her down and rather nastily too. He regained his senses, actually apologizing and doesn't know what came over him just now. They put Sindel on her bed to rest, Ermac wondering why the souls within him have such strange feelings regarding her.

Back at the bridge, Liu Kang is shooting fireballs at Motaro only for them to be reflected back. He is hit by Motaro's red energy ball, almost getting knocked off the bridge. His Bicycle Kick doesn't seem to have much effect on him, Motaro mocking him for his abilities. He then starts teleporting around Liu Kang, avoiding every hit and landing several powerful attacks against Kang. Focusing, Liu Kang thinks about the words of Bo Rai' Cho. He waits for Motaro to teleport and manages to notice just where Motaro is going to appear. He uses his Heart Break Punch from the Goro fight on Motaro before he has a chance to avoid it and then knocks him out. He goes to help Kung Lao in his fight against Shang Tsung.

Kitana manages to defeat Jade, but her injuries from the earlier fights and against her leave her vulnerable to Reptile. After knocking Kitana to the ground, Reptile is about to kill her when Jade interrupts. When asked why she is trying to kill her, he responds it was his secret order by the Emperor. Kitana is simply too dangerous to keep alive, he lied to Jade about capturing her. Reptile was actually supposed to kill Jade too, since she could potentially betray them due to her friendship with Kitana. Together, Kitana and Jade defeat Reptile, tossing him into the river below. Jade apologizes for not helping Kitana sooner, but she says this is no time to worry about such things. They then go to help against the Extermination Squads.

Sub-Zero and Smoke are taken by surprise when Noob Saibot shows off his shadows, that can fight just as well as him. When he's that they are struggling, Scorpion jumps in to help the two. Him and Sub-Zero are distracted when Noob Saibot refers to them both by their real names, despite having never met him before. This leads to them getting blindsided by his shadows, before Smoke has to jump in and snap them to their senses.

Raiden is leading the remaining warriors against the Extermination Squads, but they aren't gonna be able to hold them forever. If he had his full power, he could easily wipe them out. Upon thinking of that, he gets an idea. He pulls over Nightwolf, combines his lighting with his spiritual energy thats sends out a wave of energy that knocks all the Centaurs out cold. Upon seeing this, Shang Tsung, Noob Saibot, Motaro, and Reptile decide to retreat back to Shao Kahn's Palace. The heroes take a moment to rest before deciding to resume their previous plan of finding a place to hide and plan out their attack on Kahn's Palace.

They eventually find and take refuge at an abandoned Church in Brooklyn Heights. It's here that it is established the exact location of Kahn's Palace, Prospect Park. It's here that Raiden begins forming their plan to stop Kahn. Defeating Kahn will likely be impossible unless they disband the Soulnado, Kahn will keep growing in power the more souls he consumes from it. Him and Nightwolf should have enough power between them to disband it, but the Soulnado's base will likely be heavily guarded. So, he decides to split everyone into two groups. Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Kitana, Jade, Jax and Sonya will make their way to Shao Kahn's Throne Room and clear the forces out. Everyone else will aide Raiden and Nightwolf in reaching the base of the Soulnado, then protect them while they try and disband it. If they are lucky, they'll disband it just when the heroes arrive at the Throne Room, giving them a shot at taking down the Emperor. This is when Kitana brings up about what to do with Sindel. Pretty much everyone says that Sindel is too dangerous, Raiden saying that she was known as a powerful fighter back in the days of Edenia. As such, she's threat while under Shao Kahn's control. Kitana expresses her desire to try and save her mother, which pretty much everyone is against and just think it's best to kill Sindel. It is Liu Kang who steps in and sides with Kitana, saying that they shouldn't kill her at all. If they have to, they should at least give Kitana a chance, since it his her own mom. Jade sides with Kang and Kitana, leaving Raiden to reluctantly agree and they begin heading out towards the Palace. Kitana thanks Liu Kang for his help, which builds more on to their relationship.

Back at said Palace, Kahn is telling everyone how much they suck and he's getting real sick of everyone failing him all the time. He decides enough is enough, Ermac and Sindel are going to join the battle. He's already aware that the heroes will be attacking his stronghold soon enough, he tells his soldiers to prepare. If they fail this time, the whole Invasion will come crumbling down.

The heroes have arrived just outside Prospect Park, hiding behind a hill while Scorpion and Smoke scout the area. They return and things don't look that great. Tarkatans and Centaurs are patrolling the Palace grounds and are heavily guarding the front gate. Trying to get in there….will not be a good idea. Smoke does say there is a back entrance that lead to the basement of the Palace. They can get Liu Kang's team into the Palace that way and it will likely provide faster access to the Soulnado's base for Raiden's team. The groups advance, managing to narrowly sneak past the soldiers while knocking out the ones that are in the way. They reach the back entrance and are just about to enter when they are spotted. They quickly enter and Raiden uses his lighting to collapse the entrance and prevent them from being followed. The groups make their way through the deep, dark dungeons of Kahn's Palace. Eventually, they locate a stairwell leading to the upper floors. Raiden and Nightwolf can sense the Soulnado is somewhere around here, thus the two teams split up now.

Liu Kang's team climb up and find themselves in the Great Hall of Shao Kahn's Palace. According to Raiden, the throne room is somewhere near the top of the palace so they locate another set of stairs and continue advancing. They soon find the layout of this place is much more complex, which leads to them getting lost and getting into fights with some tarkatan guards. They eventually locate a passage leading upwards, only to be ambushed by Sindel, Ermac, Mileena, and Reptile. Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Jax fight Reptile and Mileena, while Kitana, Jade, and Sonya fight Sindel and Ermac.

Back with Raiden, his group are still trying to locate the Soulnado. Scorpion eventually finds what he believes to be the way there, only for them to get attacked by Cyrax and a repaired Sektor. Sub-Zero and Smoke tells the others to go on ahead, while they take care of them. Raiden, Kabal, Stryker, Nightwolf, and Scorpion arrive in the Soulnado Lair from the game, marvelled about the size of the monstrosity. We reiterate that it holds all the soul of humanity, as well as some added horror in that apparently everyone in it is aware of what's going on, but can't do anything about it. They are then attacked by Noob Saibot, leading a group of Tarkatans and Centaurs.

Sub-Zero and Smoke manage to defeat Cyrax, knocking him out. Sektor gives them some trouble, due to the upgrades given to him while he was repaired. Liang gets an idea, having Smoke distract Sektor while he goes over and examines Cyrax. Though his knowledge on the cybers are limited, Sub-Zero begins trying to reprogram Cyrax. He succeeds just before Sektor kills Smoke, turning the tide against him. Sektor realizes the odds are now stacked against him and disappears in an explosion of fire. Sub-Zero tells Smoke that he unfortunately wasn't able to completely free Cyrax, just change his programming so that his mission is to "Defeat Shao Kahn and help anyone else fighting against him." Cyrax chimes in asking how he can help defeat Kahn, and the three head off to rejoin the others.

Kitana, Jade, and Sonya are being repelled just by Ermac alone, Sindel barely having to lift a finger. The two discuss how they are going to get to Sindel, when they can't get past Ermac. Jade and Sonya run up, deciding to divert Ermac's attention while Kitana gets to the Sindel. She confronts her, trying to convince her of what Khan did to her. Sindel seems to have sort of reaction, like she did with the vision earlier, but she continues fighting despite her pain. Liu Kang and Kung Lao defeat Mileena and Reptile, Lao and Jax go to help Jade and Sonya while Kang runs to help Kitana. Liu Kang does well against Sindel, before Kitana tells him to go help Jade and Lao, this is her fight. He obliged, which Sindel calls them fools for. Sindel trounces Kitana and is about to kill her, only for Kitana to bring up the conquest of Edenia and more importantly, her husband King Jerrod. Ermac seems to wince from this name, while Sindel freaks out and we get a full context to the vision from earlier.

Turns out Earthrealm was not the only place that had its own Mortal Kombat Tournament. It was also invoked when Edenia was invaded by Outworld, and they had their own battles against Kahn that lasted for several millena. Eventually the throne was inherited by Prince Jerrod, who became known as a kind and strong warrior. Under his reign, Edenia entered a Golden Age of peace and prosperity. He ruled for many years before he met Sindel, who was just a simple ranch girl. We get a montage of the two's relationship developing before they eventually get married and Sindel becomes Queen of Edenia. Together, they had a child named Kitana. Unfortunately, their good times and peace would not last. About 10 years after Kitana was born, the next Mortal Kombat Tournament occured. It was at this tournament that Outworld claimed their 10th victory, allowing Kahn to immediately invade Edenia with overwhelming forces. He eventually made his way to the throne, where Jerrod, Sindel, and little Kitana were waiting. Shao Kahn made an offer, surrender the throne and he will spare Jerrod's life. Jerrod angrily ranted at Kahn, grabbed his sword, and leaped at him as he declared that Edenia shall be protected from threats like him as long as he lives. The two fought for countless hours, the battle ending in Jerrod's death. Shao Kahn would then merge Edenia with Outworld, bringing ages of suffering and oppression to its people. Having an eye for Sindel, he forced her to marry him. Sindel hated it and wanted a way out, not caring about anything else. Shao Kahn would come to her room one day, finding her dead after she committed suicide. Angered, he claimed her soul and decided to raise her daughter into everything Sindel hates.

Sindel collapses in pain, gasping for air. Kitana tries to help, but she is attacked by a recovered Mileena. Full of anger and hatred, Mileena just kicks the crap out of Kitana much to her twisted delight. Liu Kang runs off from the fight against Ermac to help, when Sindel suddenly uses her Hair Whip attack on Mileena and sends her flying through a wall. Ermac grabs her and Reptile, before retreating through a portal. Sindel slumps down, still exhausted from the rush of visions earlier. Once she gets a good eye at Kitana, the two hug and she the two talk about how great it is to see each other again. Sindel is introduced to the others and she apologizes for her actions, being indirectly responsible for the whole invasion. Despite Kitana's objections, she blames herself due to her selfishly abandoning her people and her own daughter when she killed herself. She left them when they needed her most and promises that she will make up for that. All of a sudden, they hear a bunch of tarkatans and Centaurs about to enter the room. Kitana, Jade, and Sindel tell the others to continue on and they'll hold them off. Liu Kang wishes Kitana good luck as him, Kung Lao, Jax, and Sonya head up the passageway.

Raiden and the others are still fighting, when Raiden's powers suddenly starts short circuiting. The merger he has to estimate is about 70% complete, he's getting way too weak. He grabs Nightwolf and tells him they have to start working on disbanding the Soulnado now or he will become too weak to do it. They begin and shout to the others to guard them, which they do. Sub-Zero and Smoke confront Noob Saibot once more, the former demanding answers on how he knew his real name. Noob Saibot says that Sub-Zero can feel who he is, asking him to guess. Sub-Zero horrifyingly realizes the truth, Noob Saibot IS Bi-Han. He remembers 7 years ago, whe Bi-Han told him about the inner darkness and how we would be damned if he didn't change. Unfortunately, he was killed by Scorpion before he could redeem himself. Upon realizing this, Sub-Zero tries to get through but Smoke tells him it is fruitless. Noob Saibot is all of Bi-Han's darkness, that the brother he knew is good as dead. Noob backs this, saying that they are no longer family before stabbing Sub-Zero in the shoulder with his sickle. Smoke kicks him away and begins fighting Noob himself while Sub-Zero recovers. He is defeated by Noob, who focuses his attention back on Kuai Liang. He beats on Sub-Zero, who mocks the old Bi-Han. Liang eventually counterattacks and goes berserk on Noob Saibot.

Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Jax, and Sonya arrive at the Balcony. They are finally at the last set of stairs, leading up to the Throne Room. Not surprisingly, Motaro and Shang Tsung are there waiting for them. Liu Kang is about give orders, when Sonya steps up and decides to fight Motaro. Kang has fought him already and she still has to pay him back for what he did to Johnny Cage. Jax joins her and Liu Kang tells Lao to help them while he faces off against Shang Tsung. The sorcerer boasts about how he is even stronger now, empowered further by Shao Kahn. It is during his dialogue with Kang that he has been planning to overthrow the Emperor. He intentionally informed Sheeva about what Kahn was doing to the Shokan. His plan was to try and get rid of as many allies as possible so that he Shao Kahn would have less backing and make him more likely to fail. He'll either step in after the heroes win and are weakened or to take on Shao Kahn if he wins as he'll be weakened from their fight. He says he is in and win-win scenario. Kang calls him mad and begins fighting him. Shang Tsung is shown to have even better magic and fighting skills then when they fought in _MK2_ and earlier at the bridge. Despite this, Liu Kang manages to defeat Shang Tsung once more. He wants to go help the others against Motaro, but Sonya just tells him to go on to Kahn. Kung Lao is told to join Kang and he does so. The two monks head up to the Throne Room while Sonya and Jax continue fighting Motaro.

The two monks arrive at the Throne Room, only to notice that Kahn doesn't seem to be anywhere. The location looks much like where you fight Kahn in _MK3_, except there is a large circular area in the center so that characters have actual room to fight, and the Soulnado reaches up here, behind the left side of the bridge. Kung Lao notices that Shao Kahn is floating inside the Soulnado, absorbing more souls. The Emperor descends from the Soulnado and lands on the bridge, taunting the two. He declares his strength has increased fortyfold since the Outworld Tournament and that he'll spare them if they surrender and become his servants. Kang and Lao naturally refuse and make their attack. Kahn easily counters the two and shows off his new _MK3_ moves, basically we get an idea of just how powerful he has become. He grabs Liu Kang and tosses him head first into his throne, taking him out of the fight for a while. Kung Lao is forced to fight him alone and it doesn't exactly go well.

Jax and Sonya are still fighting Motaro, who is easily holding up against them. They are suddenly joined by Sheeva, who lands a critical hit on Motaro from behind. With this help, Sonya is able to land a finishing blow on Motaro. After he falls down, She kicks him in the head and says that one was for Johnny. Sheeva then kills Motaro, much to Sonya and Jax's shock since they thought she was on Kahn's side. Sheeva doesn't have time to explain as Shang Tsung recovers and summons some Outworld soldiers to help them and they fight.

Kung Lao is badly wounded, he is no match for Shao Kahn. The Emperor hits him with his hammer, sending him flying back and wounding him even further. Despite this, Lao manages to still get up and Kahn actually commends his spirit. At this point, Liu Kang regains his senses just in time for something horrible to happen. Kung Lao makes one last, desperate charge at Kahn. He shoots out a green energy sphere that sends Lao flying off the bridge. Liu Kang shouts a loud "NO!" as Lao calls out to him, saying that he is the only one who can defeat Kahn now before he disappears into darkness. Shao Kahn is surprised that Kang is still alive, but no matter. Even the so-called "Immortal Champion of Mortal Kombat" is no match for him now. He shoots another, even stronger, green energy ball at Liu Kang. All of a sudden, he lets out an angry roar and a bright flash of light blinds Kahn. When he regains his sight, he sees the unthinkable. Liu Kang is still standing, but that is not all. He is surrounded by a strange aura, his eyes are blank white, and his fire is now blue instead of red. Kahn can't believe it, saying "Impossible! How can you possibly possess the power of the Firebrands". Liu Kang doesn't know what Kahn is talking about, but he can feel new strength flowing with him and he can take him on now and the two fight.

The idea for Liu Kang's Firebrand power is based off the Cage Power that was established in _X_. Only here, we are giving such an idea to a character that I think makes more sense to have such a thing. The Firebrands are supposed to be similar in idea to Sub-Zero being descended from Cryomancers, and I will get more detailed into their backstory once I get to the _Deception_ Wasted Plotential.

With this power, Liu Kang is put on even footing with the empowered Shao Kahn. This in much shock to the Emperor. Not only was he so sure of his victory, but he believed the power of the Firebrands died off thousands of years ago. Despite Kang's new power, he does his best to keep up with the monk. Kang's strength is highly increased and his new blue fire burns even hotter and hurts a lot more. It also blasts straight through Kahn's energy attacks, taking him by surprise the first time it happens. The two continue to fight, this would definitely be the hardest, longest, and most intricate fight in the first three games.

Raiden and Nightwolf have almost finished disbanding the Soulnado, which Noob Saibot notices and tries to stop them. Sub-Zero manages to stop him just before his attack reaches Raiden. Sub-Zero manages to finally defeat Noob Saibot and he offers mercy, believing his brother is still in there somewhere. Instead, Noob uses his shadow to attack Nightwolf, who loses his focus on the Soulnado. Enraged, Sub-Zero kicks Noob into the Soulnado. All of a sudden, it starts rumbling and freaking the hell out while the area around shakes. The Centaurs that were battling the heroes decide to flee, while Raiden just wonders what is happening.

We cut back to the Liu Kang and Shao Kahn fight, where Kahn is losing his edge. He makes one last, desperate charge at the monk. Liu Kang summons his all his power and douses Kahn with a giant blue fireball. After it dissipates, Kahn falls to the ground with many scars and burn marks on his body. Kahn begs for mercy like in _MK2_ and Liu Kang, ever true to his principles, grants it. That's when the rumbling of the Soulnado reaches them, as it does to the others. The Soulnado explodes, freeing all the souls within. Shortly after, a bunch of souls suddenly fly at Kahn and begin attacking him. Kang tries to help him, but is knocked away by the souls. More and more souls attack Kahn, who is overwhelmed and unable to resist after being so badly wounded by Liu Kang. Kahn glows green and sends out a huge explosion of green energy, freeing the souls he had absorbed. He then falls to the ground, apparently dead. Kang returns back to his normal self and collapses from exhaustion.

We then see the Souls all fly out the Palace and across the world. They return to their bodies and we see people around the world recovering and celebrating, including the monks back at the Wu Shi Academy. The sky returns to the its natural blue color, it looks like the Earth has mostly returned to normal. Liu Kang silently celebrates their victory when the Palace suddenly starts collapsing.

Back in the basement, Raiden realizes that Kahn has been defeated and that the merger is being reversed. He leads his warriors out of the Palace and goes back in search of the others.

Shang Tsung realizes what is going on and flees with his soldiers through a portal. Jax and Sonya make their way down, reuniting with Sindel, Kitana, and Jade. Raiden soon meets up with them and quickly gets them out of the Palace.

Before Raiden can go inside to find Liu Kang and Kung Lao, all but the base levels of the Palace collapse. The heroes mourn the deaths of the two, only for Liu Kang to limp out of the rubble to everybody's joy. This joy dies when Liu Kang's silence and mournful look tell them that Kung Lao didn't make it. Raiden heals Liu Kang, who tells him all that happened. Raiden remarks that the Firebrands were a race of people who existed in their own realm so long ago, so long that they've been forgotten. Since he's always been on Earth, he knows very little. He hopes that one day, Liu Kang will find the answers. The Palace rubble suddenly disappears, as well as all the Outworld structures now that the merger is fully reversing. The Elder Gods appear and congratulate Earth's warriors, deciding to provide them with a gift. Said gift turns out to be none other then the revival of Johnny Cage. Liu Kang, Jax, and Sonya give him a group hug as he tells about he had been watching everything unfold from the Soulnado, where his soul went after his death. Johnny decides to go through with something he had been planning to before the Invasion and proposes to Sonya, who accepts.

Before the heroes can celebrate that, they are suddenly surrounded and cheered on by a large gathering of New Yorkers. Johnny points out that he wasn't the only one who witnessed what was going on. Turns out, all of humanity watched Kahn's actions and the final battle while trapped in the Soulnado or in Shao Kahn. This is the point where humanity becomes aware of the existence of the gods, Shao Kahn and Outworld, and the other realms as a whole.

A few weeks later, a ceremony for the heroes is held in Central Park. They are all given medals and congratulated by the Mayor of New York. Liu Kang is asked to give a speech, and he does so. The battle with Outworld is finally over and it is now time to work on rebuilding the world after the damage that was done to it in the Invasion.

Following the ceremony, Raiden asks what Liu Kang will do now. Since Shao Kahn is now dead, he's gonna stay in New York and try to live a normal life as well as help rebuild. He isn't going to slack off, he is still the Immortal Champion after all. He's gonna continue to train, try to discover more about his new power. He'll be ready when a new threat emerges, though he'd like to live peacefully for a while now. Liu Kang and Kitana have one final scene together, that pretty much shows how their feelings have grown towards one another. We end with the heroes striking their victory poses to the cheers of the crowds.

Unlike _MK1 _or _MK2_, the credits would instead display some scenes and text to tell about some events that happen afterwards. There would be an important mid-credits and post-credit scene, but here's example of what he would see during the credits.

\- Raiden and some of the heroes helping rebuild New York City.

\- Liu Kang training, getting an apartment and a job as a fishermen in reference to his bio from the _MK1_ prequel comic.

\- Johnny and Sonya's wedding.

\- The monks mourning Kung Lao's death, especially Kung Jin.

\- A hint at Kano's revival for his return in _Deadly Alliance_.

\- The U.N forms a branch called the "Interrealm Investigation Agency" which led by General Marshall, as well as the newly promoted Lt. Colonel Jackson Briggs and Major Sonya Blade. They invent some technology to open portals and being investigating new realms.

\- Shao Kahn is shown to have survived and is sitting in the remains of Palace, arguing with Shang Tsung. The are attacked by Osh-Tekk followers who took advantage of the weakened Shao by freeing Kotal. Shao Kahn is too weakened from his battles to fight, forcing him and Shang to flee with their soldiers into hiding.

\- With Kahn out of the way, Sindel, Kitana, and Jade unmerge Edenia with Outworld. Regrouping the Edenian people, they swear to rebuild this once great realm.

\- Sub-Zero returned to his rural American home, inviting Smoke to come with him. The two continue to train, for the day that they will end the Cyber Lin Kuei.

\- Cyrax disappeared shortly after Kahn's defeat. His whereabouts are stated to be unknown as we see him wandering through a desert.

\- Ermac is now wondering aimlessly through Outworld. We see the souls within Ermac, where it's revealed one of them is King Jerrod. He laments that he wasn't able to fully gain control of Ermac. He swears one day that he will and reunite with his family.

The mid-credits scene takes place several months later, Liu Kang (now in casual attire) returns to his apartment after a long day of work. Suddenly, he hears a knock at his door and goes to answer. It's a fellow Chinese man in a white collar shirt, tie, and khakis. Kang asks who he is and he states his name is Chow. Liu Chow, his older brother. He is so happy to have finally found him, after over 20 years. This scene cuts with Liu Kang's shocked reaction. For those who don't know, Chow was mentioned in Liu Kang's bio in the _MK1_ prequel comic. Unlike the parents, he was listed as "Whereabouts unknown" and was promptly never mentioned again. Not only will I have the two reunite, but I will actually have Chow become involved in the plot later on.

The post-credits scene sees us in the Netherrealm. Baraka is shown stewing about in rage, when he is approached by Mileena and a newly revived Noob Saibot. They take him to meet Shinnok and Quan Chi, rulers of the realm. It was Shinnok who gave Baraka is new body so that he can walk the Netherrealm freely and for that, Baraka swears loyalty to Shinnok. Mileena and Noob Saibot apologize for their failures, but Shinnok stops them. Things still turned out great, even if it didn't go according to plan. The threat of Shao Kahn is dealt with and the Earth is a weaker state. The main problem was the fact the Forces of Light still remain pretty much intact, with Raiden and Liu Kang's survival being the main issues. Quan Chi leads the others through a portal, to make preparations and gain more allies. Soon, Shinnok will be able to get his revenge on not only the Elder Gods, but the one who trapped him there in the first place; Raiden.

That concludes the _MK3_ Wasted Plotential and that was fun to write. I was kinda worried about it feeling a bit like _Annihilation_, due to how many characters their were but I think it turned out relatively fine. This will become less of problem later on, since later games have more defined stories with what characters did being more specific and alike. You might notice I did not include Rain and that simply was that I could not fit him in anywhere. I knew some characters weren't gonna have as much as others, but I think Rain was the only one who straight up got cut. I stuck to the _UMK3_ roster, for the most part as you can tell.

_MK4_ is one I have a more thorough idea of what Wasted Plotential is going to be like. I feel out of the "Tobias Era" games, that one has the most to improve upon. I will announce that progress on this series will be slowed down a bit due to my new job, but I will still be writing on it in my free time.

The rest of the Original Timeline release is gonna follow game order, except the chapter on _Shaolin Monks _will be released in between _Deception _and _Armageddon_. I've also considered doing a bonus chapter on _MKvDCU_, if enough people are interested in the idea. There will definitely be a break once I finish the Original Timeline, before I move on to Current Timeline Wasted Plotentials. I currently plan to have the Original Timeline finished by at least beginning of June or mid-June. I hope you guys are looking forward to the future chapters, and feel free to share your opinions. I never say my alternate takes are ideal, these were meant to be rough outlines of what could have been, but they seem to have become much more. I go through the time to read critiques and reviews, so I'll make sure to look at any posted. Thanks for reading!


	7. WP: Mortal Kombat 4 (Part 1)

**WELCOME TO "WASTED PLOTENTIAL: MORTAL KOMBAT 4"**

Here we go, the final game in the "Tobias Era" of Mortal Kombat. After _MK4_ the series tone changes, for better and for worse. This was one that I was excited to write for, like _MK1_. There's a lot unpack here and tons to improve upon. Without further ado, let us begin the Wasted Plotential on _Mortal Kombat 4_!

"Millions of years ago in a battle with the fallen elder god known as Shinnok, my arrogance and naivety were responsible for the death of an entire civilization. To rid all realms of Shinnok's menace I waged a war that plunged the Earth into an age of darkness and banished Shinnok to a place called the Netherrealm. Now after Shao Kahn's death at the hands of the Forces of Light, Shinnok has managed to escape his confines of the Netherrealm. The war is now being fought once again, only this time, it can be won by mortals."

These are the wise words of the Thunder God, Raiden. He recaps the history of Shinnok, the events of _Mythologies_, and briefly the events of _MK1, MK2_, and _MK3_. He declares the war against Shinnok will once more be devastating, and that it will be a struggle for the Forces of Light to defeat Shinnok. Thus the tale of the Second War against Shinnok begins.

It's been two years since Shao Kahn's apparent death and his failed invasion. The Earth has been slowly recovering from the damages caused by that catosphere and are near recovery. We find ourselves in a seedy area of the Queens, where two asian men in casual attire are walking down an alleyway. They seem to be talking as they approach a basketball court, where a large group of people have gathered for some illegal street fighting. We see Kai, defeat a thug and boast about his skill. According to the leader, Skelux, that is the 5th guy he's defeated in a row. So he decides to send out their best, Bruno. This big musclehead curb-stomps Kai, after which Skelux tells Bruno to finish the twerp. Bruno goes over to end Kai, only to be Flying Kicked by one of the asian men from earlier. It's then revealed they are, of course, Liu Kang and his brother Liu Chow. The two brothers fight off the thugs and send them running. Kang helps up Kai, who is very happy to see them after all these years. Liu Kang takes him and Chow back to his apartment and they catch up. Kang and Kai briefly knew each other as kids. He had been on a training mission with his father for years, until his untimely death. Kai's heard a lot about what Liu Kang has done, saying that he was a source of inspiration during these last few years. He asks about Chow, as he doesn't remember him having a brother.

Chow explains, when he was 5 and Liu Kang was just a baby, their parents took them for a picnic. During that picnic, they were suddenly attacked by bandits who killed their parents. They would have been killed too, but by chance a wandering Bo Rai' Cho passed by and saved them. Cho seemed deeply troubled by something and decided to separate the two of them. He sent Chow to America, where he was adopted by a wealthy family in Upstate New York. Kang meanwhile was left on the doorsteps of the Wu Shi Academy. To this day, they aren't sure why Cho felt the need to do that. Regardless, Chow did not hear nor see Kang again until the Outworld Invasion. He, along with most of humanity, witnessed Kang's battle against Shao Kahn while trapped in the Soulnado. After learning that Kang was now living in New York, he was finally able to track him down and reunite. Kai is impressed at how Liu Kang has settled in here and asks about how the monks are doing. Liu Kang tells him that's he actually on a break now and is going back to the Shaolin Temples and help training at the Wu Shi Academy. He invites Kai to come along, he just might learn something. Kai agrees, with Chow staying behind due to his work.

In Edenia, Sindel sits on the throne as the vile Reptile is brought in by her guards. The saurian had been wandering the realm since Shao Kahn's defeat, committing atrocities against the Edenian people. He has finally been captured and will now be punished. Sindel sends him to work in the Cobalt Mines for the rest of his life. Reptile swears that, one day, he will get revenge on her people. Shortly after Reptile is taken away, Ambassador Rarkard and his daughter Tanya are escorted in alongside several cloaked figures. Rarkard explains that Tanya urgently comes as she was contacted by another realm that has been subjected to slavery and oppression. One of the cloaked figures, a pale man, tells Sindel of their situation. They hail from the realm of Treche, a peaceful world with a high devotion to the arts. Two years ago, the evil sorcerer Shil Kaad invaded and enslaved their people. Sindel finds this curious, as she has never heard of Treche or Shil Kaad. To show how artsy they are, the man hands Sindel an orb that is said to lead to your heart's desire. Sindel finds it utterly beautiful, thinking she could just stare at it forever. The pale man then quietly says that is exactly what they had planned.

Hundreds of miles away in a Shokan colony, Kitana is meeting with the shokan and centaurs to discuss a treaty. The two races are ready to go at war with one another, the Shokan saying they stole land from them while the Centaurs declare it was rightfully given to them by Shao Kahn. They continue arguing and Kitana seems to be getting nowhere. When she says that Kahn's declarations have no bearing now, the Centaurs seem ready to just fight the Shokan right there and now. That's when, all of a sudden, Goro drops from the rafters. Everyone is shocked, since it was thought Goro had died 5 years ago, at the end of the Mortal Kombat Tournament. One of the Centaurs tries fighting him, but is easily repelled. Goro explains he survived his fall from the bridge at the end of _MK1_, eventually finding himself back in Outworld. He was ashamed of his defeat and unwilling to serve Shao Kahn, so he decided to go off and live a quiet life. With Shao Kahn's defeat and the untimely death of his father, he takes his rightful spot as King of the Shokan and says the war is over. The Centaurs agree to give the land back to the Shokan, when a massive burst of light erupts across Edenia. One of the Edenian guards point out it came from the Royal Castle, Kitana and Goro quickly make their way over to investigate.

The orb that was given to Sindel opened a massive portal to Edenia. Out of the portal emerges an army of demons, Reiko, Noob Saibot, Mileena, Baraka, Scorpion, and Shinnok himself. The Edenian guards are killed by the demons, while Reiko and Scorpion capture Sindel. The pale man is revealed to be Quan Chi, who is congratulated by Shinnok for his cunning plan. However, this was only the first stage of their plan. During this, Reptile is freed and Quan Chi decides to tell him a little story...

In Outworld, Kotal Kahn has made a base out of the ruins of Shao Kahn's Palace. Him and his Osh-Tekk army have been trying to track down where Shao Kahn is hiding when a portal opens up and Tanya appears. She claims that Edenia desperately needs his help and he heads through the portal with some of his warriors to see what she's talking about. Kotal is heard screaming as the portal closes, leaving his remaining Osh-Tekk warriors confused and startled.

Days after these events, we find Sub-Zero visiting the Elemental Temples in China. He had apparently come here to make peace with them, as his brother had fought them years ago. However, they are all missing and no trace has been left. He wonders what has happened when he spots what looks like a shooting star falling from the sky, which he decides to investigate.

Back at the Wu Shi Academy, Liu Kang and Kai are sparring, which ends in the latter's defeat. Kang dismisses the student monks for the day with Kai complaining that he'll never be as good as Kang. Liu Kang tells Kai there is more to martial arts then just fighting, which Kai just brushes off. The two join Kung Jin and Kung Zhang in their weekly visit to the grave of Kung Lao, we see Kang and Kai comfort Jin, who was very close to him. Liu Kang takes Kai back to his room and they have a friendly chat, eventually bringing it back to Liu Kang's earlier words. He tells Kai that you have to become one with your spirit before you can summon your true power. Kai says Liu Kang is lucky, since he's the Immortal Champion and has the power of the Firebrands. Kang replies that he isn't that lucky, which confuses Kai. Liu Kang hasn't been able to summon back the Firebrand Power since he first used it, no matter how hard he trains or what he does. Kai says that stinks, but being the Immortal Champion must be great. Liu Kang's silence indicates that it isn't. Liu Kang elaborates that being Immortal Champion isn't all that it is cracked to be, saying his responsibilities must come before anything else. Not only that, but in all likelihood he will never age again. With Shao Kahn dead (they don't know he is still alive), there might not be another Mortal Kombat Tournament. Since the charm that stopped his aging can ONLY be removed via losing the title at the tournament or by getting 10 victories in a row, he will likely remain 24 for all of eternity. Kai is surprised, only ever hearing great things about being the Champion. Before Liu Kang can talk about it any further, Kai spots what seems to be a shooting star out the window. Liu Kang is curious, since it didn't look like a normal star and the two decide to investigate. They reach the crater's edge and Kang is shocked to find Fujin inside the crater, surrounded by a dozen demons.

In Shanghai, we find Sonya Blade and Jax are chasing Jarek through an abandoned building. They've been tracking him down for the last 2 years, as Jarek is the last Black Dragon member after the gang was dissolved following Kano's apparent death. They finally corner him on the roof and the three fight. Sonya and Jax defeat Jarek, arresting him. Suddenly, Jax gets a message from fellow IIA member, Gemini, who informs them that they have detected strange portal activity in Southwestern China. A helicopter picks the two up and they head over to investigate, with Jarek in tow.

Back in China, Liu Kang and Kai are working their hardest to defend Fujin from the demons. However, the demons are quick and seem to never run out of stamina. That's when Raiden appears, striking down all the demons with lighting. Liu Kang and Kai help Fujin up as Raiden explains what happened. Shinnok somehow gained access to the Heavens through Edenia, launching a massive attack against the lesser gods and Elder Gods. In the ensuing battle, himself and Fujin were the sole lesser gods to survive. Normally, they would just reform from their essence in short time, but Shinnok used his amulet to destroy that essence and permanently kill them. The Elder Gods also survived the onslaught, but were severely weakened in the process. They did manage to force Shinnok to retreat back to Edenia, but he will likely strike again soon. This time, even the Elder Gods may not make it. Liu Kang is worried about Edenia, especially after Raiden informs him of Kitana and Sindel being imprisoned in the Royal Castle. This is also where Liu Kang learns about Goro's survival. Kang wants to go right now to help Kitana, but Raiden says he cannot do this alone. If they are to succeed against Shinnok, they will need allies and a planned attack. Raiden and Fujin leave to the Heavens to strengthen their defense, telling Kang and Kai to gather allies to the Wu Shi Academy. Once they return, they will head into Edenia and battle Shinnok's army.

Shortly after, Sonya, Jax, Jarek, and Sub-Zero all arrive. Kang introduces Kai to them and asks what they are doing here. Sonya and Jax inform him about how they detected portal activity, while Sub-Zero saw the shooting star fall like them. Liu Kang tells them about what happened and they begin calling more warriors to join the battle against Shinnok. While Sonya contacts them, Jax frees Jarek. When he asks why Jax did that, he tells Jarek it is because he is going to help them. When Jarek asks why he would help them, Jax explains that Shinnok will likely bring about the end of the Earth if he wins, so they need all the help they can get. Jarek, seeing the logic in this, agrees to help defeat Shinnok.

A few hours later, a jet flies over the group. Out from the jet, Johnny Cage parachutes out...only to crash right into a tree. He's helped down by Kang and Sonya, with Johnny complaining all the way. He was right in the middle of filming _Mortal Kombat 3_ in Chicago, when Sonya radioed him about the whole Shinnok biz. We get some nice dialogue between Sonya and Johnny, as they are married now.

Another helicopter arrives, containing both Smoke and Cyrax. Sub-Zero is surprised to see the latter, as he mysterious disappeared after Shao Kahn's defeat. Jax tells him that a year ago, they found Cyrax aimlessly walking in disrepair through the Sahara Desert. They were able to restore his functions, removing the Lin Kuei inhibitors in the process. Plagued by mysterious memories, Cyrax decided to side with them for now. Kang asks if that is all they could gather, Sonya saying they either couldn't get a hold of the others or they were too wrapped up in stuff to help. This somewhat justifies why some characters are absent from the events of _MK4_. Raiden and Fujin finally return, but before they head to Edenia, Raiden decides to tell them the story of Shinnok. This leads into the narration that we saw above, though more detailed. Raiden opens a portal to Edenia, and the heroes head in. Just before the portal closes, a mysterious figure jumps in after them.

Back at Lin Kuei HQ, the Grandmasters are finally informed by Cyrax's betrayal to the IIA as well as the whole ordeal with Shinnok. They discuss the matter until Sektor enters and volunteers to track him down, kill Shinnok, and possibly take care of Sub-Zero and Smoke in the process. The Grandmasters agree and their portal technology, that some operatives stole from the IIA, and open a portal to Edenia. Sektor enters the portal and promises that he will not fail this time.

Meanwhile, the heroes find themselves in a vast forest on the outskirts of the Edenia Royal Castle. They begin making their way through the trees, eventually coming across a clearing. It's there that they are attacked by some demons, Reiko, and Scorpion. Sub-Zero and Smoke are shocked that he seems to be working for the bad guys, especially when actually starts attacking Kuai Liang.

Raiden fights Reiko while the other heroes work on fighting the demons. The Thunder God admits surprise at seeing Reiko again, as he saw him die during Shinnok's first invasion. Reiko admits to not being sure how he is alive again, only remembering suddenly waking up in the Netherrealm alongside Shinnok's forces. He was Shinnok's best general back in the day, so it is no surprise that he revived him. The two fight, ending with Raiden whacking him with his staff.

Sub-Zero questions Scorpion as they fight, accusing him of being a traitor and dishonoring his vow to protect him. The spectre, in turn, accuses Sub-Zero of murdering his wife and son. This take Kuai Liang back, as he didn't know that Scorpion had a family like that. Liang tries to Scorpion he didn't do anything to them, but Scorpion just ignores him and beats Sub-Zero up. Smoke and Cyrax intervene just before Scorpion is about to kill Sub-Zero. Once the spectre sees that the demons have been beaten by the others, he retreats in a burst of flames. They help Liang, who is convinced that Scorpion has fallen victim to a falsehood. Smoke wonders if Bi-Han killed Scorpion's family, but Sub-Zero says Bi-Han never mentioned them when he told the story of how he killed Hanzo. Liang isn't sure what is going on, but he is gonna get to the bottom of it.

Reiko eventually regains consciousness, only to find himself tied up to a tree. Jax and Sonya use their expert Special Force interrogation skills to get him to cough up directions to the Castle and it's defenses. They then continue on towards the Castle, leaving Reiko tied up next to a man-eating tree.

Back at the Edenia Castle, Shinnok is asking Quan Chi how long until they will be prepared to strike the heavens again. The sorcerer estimates that they still need 6 hours before preparations for the final attack against the Elder Gods are complete. Suddenly, a messenger arrives informing Shinnok and Quan Chi about the arrival of the Forces of Light. Shinnok calls forth Noob Saibot, Mileena, Baraka, and Reptile. He informs them to ready themselves for kombat and calls upon some demons to go rescue Reiko. He specifically warns them to not underestimate Raiden or Liu Kang, those two are the greatest threat in his campaign against the Heavens and Earth. They promise Shinnok that they will not fail and leave to prepare. Quan Chi asks Shinnok how confident he is feeling in winning this war, the fallen Elder God saying as long as he has his amulet, he will win.

In private, we hear Quan Chi mocking Shinnok's words from earlier. We get a plot point from _Mythologies _reiterated here. That Quan Chi has the real amulet while Shinnok has a very identical fake. He plans on using it on Shinnok once he's weakened from the battles to overthrow him and take the realms for himself.

The heroes reach the outskirts of Edenia Castle, which is surrounded by Shinnok's forces. As they debate on how they are going to get in, they are approached by Tanya. She tells them how it was all her fault that Edenia was invaded by Shinnok, asking if there is anyway she can help. Raiden asks if she knows another way into the Castle, which there is of course. An old underground passageway leads into the deepest parts of the Castle. She will guide them to the entrance, grateful that she finally has found warriors that can save the realm.

With Tanya's help, the heroes manage to sneak by Shinnok's forces and find the passageway. Some stairs leading down to large door in the side of a cliff. Cyrax breaks the lock and they head inside, ending up in Reptile's Lair from the game. As they search for another passageway, the group are attacked by Reptile and some brainwashed Osh-Tekk warriors. The Saurian suddenly lunges and assaults Raiden, who manages to defend himself rom Reptile's brutal onslaught of attacks. He seems extremely angry and spouting stuff about how Raiden is his greatest enemy. Liu Kang helps out Raiden in fighting Reptile while the Osh-Tekk fight the rest. Reptile questions Liu Kang's trust in Raiden, as he committed genocide against his people. Kang is taken aback by this and we learn what Reptile was told by Quan Chi earlier. That the civilization that crumbled as a result from the first battle against Shinnok was the Saurians, Reptile's race. This destroyed their life on Earth and reduced their species to endangered levels. Desperate, they escaped to the realm of Zaterra where they lived out for several millennia. That was until Shao Kahn conquered and merged it with Outworld. Now, Reptile is seemingly the last Saurian in existence. To him, this is all Raiden's fault for his actions millions of years ago. Liu Kang rejects Reptile's story, only to notice Raiden's solemn look. Reptile points out that Raiden can't deny the truth and tells Kang that he will just lead humanity to the same destruction that the Saurians suffered at his hand. Kang is visibly conflicted and is stunned with silence. Raiden then summons a large lighting bolt that knocks out Reptile and the Osh-Tekk. Liu Kang and the heroes confront Raiden, asking for the truth about what he did millions of years ago. Raiden reveals he left out some details about his battle against Shinnok and decides to tell them now.

Yes, what Reptile said is the truth. Long before humanity inhabited this world, it was home to the Saurians. They had a long and thriving civilization, which was watched over by the previous Protector of Earthrealm for most of their lives. When he ascended to Elder God status, he named Raiden as his successor. Not long after he took up the mantle, Shinnok invaded the Earth. He knew that waging a war against Shinnok would be destructive and possibly bring about the end of the Saurians. Raiden decided to go through with the battle, viewing the destruction of the Saurians as acceptable losses to stop Shinnok. Now, as a result of his development from _MK1, MK2, _and _MK3_, he thinks back to that with regret. It's his greatest failure and he wonders if he could have done something better back then. Sonya and Jax try to comfort him, saying casualties are inevitable in war, that's the price they pay to fight for peace. This seems to lighten up Raiden a bit, he slams his staff on the ground and claims he will not make the same mistake this time.

Tanya points them towards an exit. Liu Kang enters the next room, just as the place starts shaking. Tanya leaps and pushes Liu Kang out of the way, as the roof of the exit collapses and blocks the passage. Raiden tries to clear the way, but Tanya says that is too dangerous. There is another passage in Reptile's Lair, just take that. She'll guide Liu Kang through this area and they will meet up again on a higher floor. The heroes agree to this, though as they find the other exit, Johnny comments on how it's weird the place just randomly shock and suddenly stopped. Raiden finds that suspicious, deciding to keep that in mind for now.

They eventually make their way to the higher floors and are ambushed by a gang of demons. Johnny is nearly killed in the back by one, when Jade impales it with her staff. She had been away in Eastern Edenia on an ambassador mission when Shinnok invaded, so she's been spending most of her time just trying to get back to the Castle. After they defeat the demons, Jade asks if they know where Sindel and Kitana are imprisoned. Raiden uses his powers to peer into the mind of one of the demons, discovering them in the the maximum security cells of the lower floors. He decides to take Jax, Jade, Fujin, and Kai with him to go rescue them while the others continue on towards Shinnok, but tells them not to confront him until her returns.

Meanwhile, Liu Kang and Tanya are walking through a dark stone passageway. Kang lights up a torch and asks Tanya if she is sure where they are going. Tanya just tells Kang to trust her and heads up to scout ahead, focusing on her strange smirk as we cut away.

Raiden and his group arrive in the deep prison dungeons of the Edenia Castle. They locate the cells where Kitana and Sindel are imprisoned, only to be attacked by Noob Saibot, Mileena, and some more demons. Sub-Zero, Cyrax, and Smoke take on Noob Saibot, Jade fights Mileena, the rest fight the demons.

Although the three ninjas are fighting Noob, it's mostly the latter two that actually fight. Sub-Zero tries desperately to get through to his brother. The wraith however seems to completely embrace evil and Shinnok, his master. Liang points out that Shinnok was the one he worked so hard to thwart 7 years ago, who would have invaded much sooner if Bi-Han hadn't have stopped him. He was always proud of what he did back then, something that Liang admired and inspired him. Liang brings up him being afraid of the darkness within him and tries to remind him of his life as Bi-Han. We get a brief flashback montage of the two brothers lifes, leading up to their final interaction before the Mortal Kombat Tournament where Bi-Han was murdered. This actually seems to work briefly on Noob, only for him to turn around and mortally wound Smoke with his sickle. Sub-Zero tries to help Smoke, but it is too late and he shuts down from his injuries. That was the last straw for Kuai Liang, he declares to Noob that they may share blood, but they are no longer brothers and he starts wailing on him. This ends with him freezing Noob and shattering him to pieces. Johnny runs over and tries to lighten things up, saying no one should have to grow through something like this. Liang knows that Noob isn't dead, since he survived the Soulnado. He apologizes to Bi-Han, saying he never deserved this fate. He turns to Smoke and prays for him, saying he was a great warrior and hopes he finds peace in death.

Jade manages to defeat Mileena, retrieving the key to the cells. They unlock the door and we cut inside to see Goro stewing about. He's thinking about the tales he's heard of Shinnok and wanders if Kitana is safe. Suddenly, the door is opened. A shadowy figure stands in the doorway, which Goro calls to come forth so that he may thank him for the rescue. The figure just says he doesn't want his thanks and steps forth, revealing himself to be Kung Lao.

Goro is surprised, having heard rumors of Kung Lao's death at the hands of Shao Kahn. Lao responds that he was pretty sure that Goro was to have died back at the Island. He removes his hat, Goro telling him that if he is to strike him dead then to get on with it. We cut away as Kung Lao raises his hat to strike.

Raiden and the others open the cell doors, Sindel, Kitana, Rarkard, and a bunch of Edenia Castle staff. Jade hugs Kitana and Sindel, so glad to see they are safe. The heroes explain what's happened so far, Kitana then questions where Liu Kang is. Johnny informs them of how he is with Tanya, much to Rarkard's shock. Raiden asks what's wrong as we cut away once more.

Back in the stone corridor, Tanya leads Liu Kang into a large room. Kang looks around and notices the walls appear to be made of metal rather than stone. Suddenly, the exit is sealed by a large door. Kang calls out to Tanya, who chuckles and says she doesn't understand what Kitana sees in him. Spikes protrude from the walls and they start closing in on Kang. The monk realizes he has been lead into a trap and tries to break out, but is unsuccessful. As the walls are just about to close in, Raiden bursts a hole in the ceiling and uses his lighting to destroy the walls, saving Liu Kang. He opens the door, to see a shocked Tanya. Kitana, Sindel, Jade, and Rarkard jump down the hole and confront Tanya. Kitana explains to Liu Kang that Tanya betrayed Edenia, it was thanks to her that Shinnok and Quan Chi were able to invade and reach the Heavens. Tanya shouts that because of the threat Liu Kang possess, she was to lead him to his death in that trap. It would have worked, if it weren't for his meddling friends.

Sindel questions Tanya, asking why she would have betrayed her realm. Tanya slaps Sindel to the ground, saying it was because of her. When Shao Kahn conquered Edenia, Sindel soon killed herself. She callously abandoned her people when they needed her most, leaving them to suffer under the Emperor's rule. Now that he is dead, Sindel takes the throne back and just expects the Edenians to accept her back? Most did, but some like her could not stand a terrible person like her being allowed back at the throne. She was approached by Quan Chi several months ago, promised that they would dispose of Sindel and pave the way for a more deserving ruler. Kitana, Jade, and Liu Kang defend her, but Sindel knows that what she said isn't wrong. Liu Kang challenges Tanya and defeats her, saying no matter what, you never betray your own people. Raiden lifts them back up through the hole in the ceiling. Rarkard, Sindel, and Jade go to free more of their people while Kitana joins the others in stopping Shinnok.

We cut back to Sonya and the others, who have reached the room before the Throne where Shinnok is supposed to be. They are attacked by Scorpion and Reptile, alongside a huge group of demons and brainwashed Osh-Tekk. They do well in battle, but are horribly outnumbered. Raiden and others arrive just in time to join the fight. While they battle Scorpion and Reptile's forces, Raiden continues on to the Throne Room to finish this once and for all.

Raiden enters the massive Throne Room, at the end of which sits Shinnok himself. He commends Raiden on his abilities and the valor of his warriors, but that this time the Forces of Light will fail. Raiden challenges him to Kombat, but Shinnok first sends out Quan Chi to face him. The sorcerer laughs, asking Raiden if he seriously thought that Bi-Han had actually killed him during their encounter, 7 years ago. Raiden replies with his own quip and the two fight, Raiden emerging as the victor. Shinnok jumps off his Throne and the two battle, exchanging banter throughout the fight. We get an idea of Shinnok's powers and just how strong he is, he should be shown as being a much bigger threat then Kahn was. Basically, just do anything to make him an actual threat compared to how he was in the real _MK4_.

The battle nearly brings the whole room down, but Raiden manages to narrowly defeat the fallen Elder God. He declares that Shinnok's reign is over and goes to grab his amulet off of him. Shinnok says that Raiden should know to not be so sure of these things. As Raiden touches the amulet, it disappears in a puff of smoke. Quan Chi disappears as well, followed by Shinnok. Back in the other room, a portal opens up that Scorpion, Reptile, and the demons run through. The Osh-Tekk fall to the floor, leaving the heroes in confusion. They head to the Throne Room and Liu Kang asks what happened. Raiden realizes that the Quan Chi and Shinnok he fought were just dopplegangers, fakes. He wonders what this means, when it hits him. He decides to open a portal back to Earth, telling the heroes to wait while he checks things out.

Raiden enters and discovers that New York City is under attack by Shinnok's demons. He finds General Marshall and his army forces, asking him what has happened. He tells Raiden that shortly after they went to Edenia, Shinnok attacked various points across the globe. They weren't prepared for the sudden attack, leaving most of the world extremely vulnerable. He informs him that he has already conquered Japan and most of Eastern Asia. Shocked, Raiden teleports to the outskirts of his Sky Temple.

He arrives...and sees that his Temple has become occupied by Shinnok as his throne and base. It no longer resembles his noble residence, now it's been twisted to Shinnok's liking. Raiden falls on his knees, shouting "NO!" as we get a montage of the devastation that Shinnok has been causing all around the Earth.

**TO BE CONCLUDED IN PART II**


	8. WP: Mortal Kombat 4 (Part 2)

Raiden returns back to Edenia, not saying a word. Liu Kang asks what happened and Raiden reveals that they all have been lead astray. Edenia was just a red herring, distraction. While the heroes focused here, Shinnok invaded the Earth and has begin conquering it. He has already conquered Japan and has devastated cities across the globe. He has taken up residence in his Sky Temple, twisting it into his own image. Kang and Kai fear that he has harmed the Shaolin and the heroes want to head back to Earth, but Raiden points out Shinnok's forces are now too large for them to take on and they don't have enough people to take them on. A voice speaks out, saying that one such as Raiden cannot give up so easily.

They turn and see Kotal Kahn, alongside Jade and Sindel. He explains how he was tricked and captured by Tanya, as him and his army could be a possible threat to Shinnok's rule. His Osh-Tekk warriors were brainwashed to fight them. In return for freeing them and to stop his menace, he tells Raiden that he will personally lead his army against Shinnok. Sindel will send as many Edenian warriors as they can, but her, Jade, and Kitana will have to sit out. Some of Shinnok's forces still remain in Edenia, and some of their people are still missing, so they need to settle that before they can join. Jax and Sonya says they will gather the US Army and the IIA operatives to help. The rest of the heroes state they got Raiden's back and there is a chance for them win, they need to take that chance no matter how slim it is. Raiden, his spirits liften, opens a portal for Jax and Sonya to return to Earth and gather their forces. Sindel, Jade, and Kitana go off to gather the Edenian warriors. Raiden and the rest of the heroes gather around to plan their attack against the Sky Temple.

At Shinnok's Sky Temple, Quan Chi informs Shinnok about how the Forces of Light have figured out their treachery and are likely planning to assault the Temple. Cockily, the fallen Elder God tells Quan Chi to let them come. He held back his forces in Edenia, so they have no idea what his army is capable of. He sends of Reiko and the others to prepare his army for the inevitable attack.

Raiden discusses with Fujin and Liu Kang about attacking the Sky Temple. Shinnok's magic barrier prevents them from teleporting straight there, they will have to travel to the valley surrounding the temple and make their way up. Johnny notices someone approaching the room and smiles, calling out to the others. In walks both Kung Lao and Goro, the latter sporting a massive scar across his chest.

Liu Kang is so happy to see Kung Lao that he bursts into tears and hugs him. He is shocked, saying that he saw Shao Kahn kill him. Lao admits, he didn't really die back at the Palace and he explains.

He feel for a long while after Shao Kahn knocked him off the bridge. By some miracle, he survived the landing but with very bad injuries. He escaped from the Palace as it collapsed, resting himself under a nearby tree. Lao witnessed Liu Kang and the others celebrating their victory from a distance. He considered revealing himself, but then he thought about things a little more. Since the threat of Outworld is gone, he is no longer needed to defend Earthrealm. He can finally go and live that life of peace that he always yearned for. He quietly snuck away and recovered from his injuries. Lao would briefly return to China, to reunite with his old love Chen Ying. I haven't mentioned her yet, but she will play a role in the _Shaolin Monks_ Wasted Plotential. He convinced her to join him back in America, where the two settled in Chicago. They spent the next two years living in blissful peace together. There was one person who eventually figured out that Lao was still alive, Johnny Cage. Six months before Shinnok's invasion, Johnny came to Chicago for filming. The two just so happened to bump into each other by chance, with Cage eventually respecting Lao's wishes to not tell the others that he is alive. He found about Shinnok and Goro from Cage, who told him about the whole ordeal before he joined the heroes in China. When he learned Goro was actually still alive, Lao could not stop thinking about it. The monster who killed his ancestor was still out there, revenge burned deep within him. He donned on his martial arts gear and hat once more, making his way back to China. He followed them through the portal to Edenia, keeping himself hidden.

Liu Kang asks about the scar on Goro's chest, who explains how that happened. We are back where Kung Lao had just risen his hat to strike Goro...only to slash him across the chest, creating the scar. Goro was surprised that Kung Lao didn't kill him, considering their history. Lao suddenly dropped his angry look, saying that wasn't intended to be a fatal blow. Rather, a ceremonial strike of revenge. He want to put the past behind them and settle their differences once and for all. Goro states his ancestor was a great man and warrior, the two shaking hands.

Kung Lao eventually heard of Shinnok invading the Earth and that's when he decided he could no longer stay out of battle. If he doesn't fight, no one will get to live the life of peace that he desires. He apologizes to Liu Kang for making everyone think he's dead and wonders if the monks will be able to forgive him. Kang says that they will understand and will embrace his return, the two monks hugging once more.

Goro offers his help, he will gather the Shokan and Centaurs that are willing or able to fight against Shinnok's forces. Raiden thanks Goro for his aide and Liu Kang walks up to him. Goro admits still feeling a tiny grudge against Kang for defeating him 5 years ago, but like Lao he must put the past behind them. Liu Kang puts his hands together and bows, Goro doing the same. He thanks Goro for his help, hoping this will lead to peace between humanity and the Shokan.

Sektor finally appears, having relayed everything he has heard to the Lin Kuei Grandmasters. He approaches the heroes, who naturally are ready to attack him. Sektor explains that the Lin Kuei understand the threat Shinnok is and are going to help them. Sub-Zero and Cyrax want nothing to do with Sektor, but Liu Kang and Raiden convince them to let him help. The heroes then continue discussing their plans.

We cut to a valley, on the outskirts of the Sky Temple. Raiden teleports in, alone. Suddenly, a massive portal opens up and out marches a massive army led by Reiko. He confronts Raiden and they have some amusing banter. It caps off with Reiko asking if Raiden seriously expects to take on his massive army by his lonesome. Raiden says no, before opening a portal. Out marches the Forces of Light, Kotal Kahn and his Osh-Tekk warriors, a squadron Edenian soldiers, Goro alongside a large unit of Shokan and Centaurs, General Marshall and a large faction of the US Army and IIA soldiers, and a group of Lin Kuei cyborgs led by Sektor. Raiden shouts, "ATTACK!" and the heroes make their assault on Reiko's army.

We see various members of the forces of each side attack in this massive battle. Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Johnny Cage, Fujin, Sub-Zero, Kai, Cyrax, and Raiden secretly advance towards the Sky Temple. With most of Shinnok's forces battling their army, this will provide this with the perfect chance to get a clear shot to the Temple.

They climb the mountainside and reach the entrance to the Temple. Kang looks back on the massive battle below and can't help but think of how lives are being lost. He admits to Lao and Kai about how he understands why the former yearns for a peaceful life. After the battles of the last 5 years, he has grown tired of the constant fighting. Raiden chimes in, saying that it Kang's duty as Champion to fight. Kang thinks back to his younger days, where he was excited and wished to be a hero and gain the title of Immortal Champion. He doesn't regret becoming Champ and he still loves martial arts, but the battles against the Forces of Darkness are starting to wear on him. This conversation is interrupted by Raiden opening the door to the Sky Temple. The group head inside and begin making their way to the Throne Room at the top, where Shinnok is waiting.

Back at the battle, the two sides are currently in a stalemate. Kotal Kahn defends Sonya and Jarek from an attack by a large demon, witnessing Sektor get blasted by some sort of dark magic. Dark energy emits all over his body as he falls to the grown, taking him out of the battle. Kotal decides to take charge over his Lin Kuei brethren, leading to some nice teamwork between the Osh-Tekk and Cyber Lin Kuei. We get some cuts back and forth between the battle and Raiden's group, showing what's going on while they are at the Temple. Another one would be Kitana, Jade, and Sindel joining with the former fighting Mileena once more. I'll be focusing primarily on Raiden's group for the rest of this part.

They are about to head up the stairs, which leads to the lookout and door to the Throne Room, when they are attacked by Quan Chi, Scorpion, Reptile, Baraka, and some demons. They expected that the heroes would try to sneak off to them Temple during the battle and so some of them stayed behind to counter them. Liu Kang fights Quan Chi, Sub-Zero and Cyrax fight Scorpion, Kung Lao fights Baraka, Raiden fights Reptile, and the rest fight the demons.

Raiden defeats Reptile, who hopes that one day Reptile can forgive him for the atrocities he committed. While the others are busy, Raiden heads up the stair to confront Shinnok, for real this time.

Baraka is in berserk mode, since Kung Lao murdered him in their last battle in _MK3_. Lao seems sorry for killing Baraka, wanting to put their transgressions behind them like he did with Goro. Baraka pretty much says screw that, and just continues swiping at Lao.

Sub-Zero once more tries to convince Scorpion that he has been led astray, but the spectre doesn't believe him. He defeats Cyrax and then tackles Sub-Zero through a wall. The two fall and land in a courtyard below. Scorpion suffers little injury while Sub-Zero is badly hurt. Despite his pain, Sub-Zero continues to fight Scorpion after he realizes that he isn't going to listen to reason.

Raiden enters the lookout and pauses to look around at the chaos below. His forces seem to be holding up against Shinnok and hopes it will stay that way. He slams open the doors and gets a good look at what his Throne Room now looks like. It resembles the Fire Well stage from the game, but with a large ornate throne at one end of the room. Shinnok sits flippantly, congratulating Raiden on making his way here. He compliments his forces, but says they will not survive against him much longer. Shinnok steps off his throne and makes him an offer, to join him and take down those pathetic Elder Gods. Raiden naturally refuses, calling Shinnok a madman obsessed with power. Shinnok says he just made a huge mistake and the two fight. Much to Raiden's shock, he gets his ass kicked by the fallen Elder God. The doppelganger he fought in Edenia was roughly equal in power to Shinnok back when they first battled millions of years ago, he lured Raiden into a false sense of security. He has grown much stronger since and has learned Raiden's new fighting skills and tactics from the battle with his doppelganger. We see some more Shinnok's impressive fighting skills as he trounces Raiden.

Quan Chi taunts Liu Kang as he uses his mastery of black magic to keep Kang from getting close to strike. He shoots a Green Flaming Skull at Kang, who manages to rush forward, duck under it, and uppercut the sorcerer. The two then have a proper fight, with Liu Kang emerging as the winner of course. Quan Chi begs for mercy, which Kang grants but not before kicking him in the head to knock him unconscious. Seeing that the others are holding up fine and growing concerned with how long Raiden is taking, Kang heads up the stairs to the Throne Room.

We see Shinnok punching out Raiden, having won their fight. He traps Raiden in a skull hand, who cannot get out due to his weakened state. Shinnok says he was wrong to chose his faith in the Elder Gods over him and that he is ready to take his place as ruler of all eternity. He is about to use his amulet to permanently kill Raiden, like he did with the Gods of Water, Earth, and Fire back during his assault on the Heavens. Before he can finish though, Liu Kang bursts in. He is horrified with Raiden's predicament and tries to help him, only for Shinnok to blast him back. Shinnok is glad to see the monk, impressed over his skills in defeating Shao Kahn twice. He says he could use a general like Kang, but the monk angrily says he will not betray his realm. Liu Kang challenges Shinnok to Mortal Kombat and he accepts.

Shinnok's arrogance gets the best of him, as he is taken by surprise. While he knew of his skill and power, Kang proves to be much more of match for him then he initially expected. The battle is narrow, but Liu Kang manages to defeat Shinnok. He slumps to the ground, seemingly out cold. Kang goes over to help Raiden, who commends Liu Kang for his triumph over Shinnok. They banter for a bit, when Raiden notes that it is odd the skeleton hand hasn't disappeared yet. The entire area starts shaking as Raiden turns Kang's attention back to Shinnok.

Shinnok's eyes glow an angry red and the amulet burns a bright fire. A flash of orange light fills the arena and we cut back to Kung Lao and the others. The rumbling knocks everyone down and confusion breaks out as they wonder what the heck is going on. In the battle, everyone stops as they turn towards Temple. A beam of orange energy bursts out of the roof and turns the sky dark red. A wave of energy hits Shinnok's forces, who all start glowing with an orange aura. This seems to empower them and they turn the tide against the heroes, leading to a massive slaughter.

Back in the Throne, the light finally clears. Liu Kang and Raiden stare in shock as they see Corrupted Shinnok emerge from the beam of energy. Raiden tells Kang that Shinnok is pissed and is summoning all of his magic and amulet's power to become an unstoppable demonic force. Liu Kang decides he has no choice to fight him, despite Raiden's warnings that even he cannot stand a chance against his new form. Shinnok tells Liu Kang he should heed Raiden's words and surrender to him, but the monk refuses.

Liu Kang launches a Bicycle Kick against Corrupted Shinnok, only to be blasted out of it by his Hellfire Beam. Kang runs up and begins striking Shinnok, only to do little to no damage against him. Shinnok grabs Liu Kang, mocking him for defying him before using Hellfire Choke on him and sends Kang flying into the wall. As Kang is recovering, he notices the amulet inside of Shinnok and rushes forward. He believes he can return Shinnok to normal if he takes it, but Shinnok easily repels him back. Kang tells Raiden that he's right, he can't defeat Shinnok and it looks like this is the end. Raiden seems down as well, until he tells Liu Kang that it isn't too late. He has the power of the Firebrands, that might give him the strength he needs to defeat him. The problem for Liu Kang is that he hasn't been able to activate that power since he defeated Shao Kahn and still can't. Shinnok decides he's sick of their talk and attacks Raiden with a torrent of hellfire. Raiden slumps in the hand, much to Liu Kang's horror. He tries to get him to say something, but he fears Raiden is dead. He falls to his knees and starts tearing up, which Shinnok mocks him for. Kang suddenly gets silent and Shinnok prepares to finish him. That's when Liu Kang starts yelling out a warrior shout and Shinnok is blinded by a blue light. A wave of blue energy is sent out the powers up the heroes below, putting them on equal footing with Shinnok's empowered forces.

The light clears and we see Shinnok is now the shocked one. Liu Kang has the aura, blank white eyes, and blue fire of the Firebrand form. Only this time, the aura is larger and brighter then it was in the Shao Kahn fight. Shinnok tries to quip about this power-up meaning nothing, only for Kang to start relentlessly attack him. He combos him and sends him flying with the same giant blue fireball he used against Shao Kahn. It doesn't defeat Shinnok, but it does make Shinnok realize that Liu Kang is actually a threat now. Kang, with an echoey and powerful voice, tells Shinnok that his reign is over. Thus, the final battle between Firebrand Liu Kang and Corrupted Shinnok begins. This would be the hardest fight in the game naturally, and the toughest battle of Liu Kang's life up to this point. Highlights would include Liu Kang using firebrand-empowered versions of his combos and special moves and him having a beam struggle against Shinnok's Hellfire Beam.

Both Liu Kang and Shinnok are shown to slowly grow weary from the battle. Shinnok tries a massive hellfire beam to finish him off, only for Liu Kang to destroy it with a blue fireball in the shape of a dragon. While Shinnok is distracted by that, Kang rushes straight up to him. He reaches inside Corrupted Shinnok and, after a bit of a struggle including Shinnok's energy trying to corrupt him, Liu Kang rips the amulet straight out of him. Corrupted Shinnok does a loud yell in pain, as he slumps to the ground.

Outside, the orange energy beam dissipates and the sky returns to normal. All of Shinnok's empowered soldiers return to their normal selves and collapse. The Forces of Light celebrate their apparent victory. Kung Lao and the others see what happens, realizing that Liu Kang and Raiden actually did it.

Corrupted Shinnok bursts into a blast of energy. Shinnok returns to normal and falls unconscious. Liu Kang also returns to normal and falls to his knees with the amulet in his hand. He seem quiet at first, until he starts loudly laughing. He actually managed to defeat the fallen Elder God and Earth is finally at peace once again. Kang remembers Raiden and sees him fall to the ground after the skeleton hand trapping him disappears. He goes over and mourns Raiden's death, only for the Thunder God to reawaken. He was just out cold, not dead. Besides, even if he did die, he just would have reformed from his essence. The two hug as Raiden tells Kang how proud he is and that he has proven just how much he deserves to be the Immortal Champion of Mortal Kombat. Kung Lao and the others arrive, helping the two up. Before they can celebrate, Raiden must take care of Shinnok. He takes the amulet from Liu Kang and uses it to imprison Shinnok back in the Netherrealm. The Sky Temple then returns to how it was before Shinnok invaded and the heroes head outside, embracing the autumn sunlight.

Meanwhile, back in the Courtyard, Scorpion has defeated Sub-Zero. By defeating Sub-Zero, he has avenged the death of his family and can finally rest in peace. Sub-Zero once again tells him that neither him or the Lin Kuei killed his family. Scorpion retorts that if he didn't kill them, then who could have done it? That's when Quan Chi shows, up injured and riled up from his defeat and Shinnok's. He says that he did it, you stupid, gullible spectre. Scorpion is shocked and angry, as Quan Chi madly rants about how he was the one who killed the Shirai Ryu, 7 years ago. Sub-Zero didn't murder his family, he did shortly after Shinnok invaded. Now that Shinnok is defeated and he has no more use for Scorpion, he uses his magic to try and send the spectre back to the Netherrealm. Scorpion, in his rage, grabs Quan Chi and he ends up trapped in the Netherrealm as well. Quan Chi runs in terror as Scorpion chases after him.

Weeks later, the heroes are celebrated in Tokyo. For freeing not only Japan, but the rest of the world from Shinnok's tyranny. Kotal, Kitana, and Goro discuss a treaty between the three forces. He also asks their help in tracking down Shao Kahn, revealing to them he is actually still alive. Once he is truly dead, he can restore Outworld to a realm of nobility. They agree to help him, saying this will lead to a newfound peace between the realms. Liu Kang talks with Lao, Kai, and Raiden about everything that has happened. Here, Kang reveals the he's discovered he can now go into Firebrand form at will. Raiden mentions with Shao Kahn gone and Shinnok back in the Netherrealm, they might finally be able to enjoy some peace for a long while. Everyone is surprised when the Elder Gods arrive, congratulating Raiden and the Forces of Light. They offer Elder God status to Raiden, who accepts and names Fujin to take over as Protector of Earthrealm. Raiden ascends, promising that he will always be looking after Liu Kang and the others. The heroes cheer and strike a pose, before parting ways once more.

A few days later, Liu Kang (now in his casual attire) is back at his apartment in New York City when his brother Liu Chow arrives. The two chat for a bit when a portal opens up, which Kitana walks out of. She thanks Liu Kang once more for defeating Shinnok and helping save Edenia. As heir to the throne of Edenia, she offers Liu Kang to rule by her side as King of Edenia for as long as they may live. Chow encourages Liu Kang to accept and he very nearly does. That's when Liu Kang suddenly flashbacks to what he told Kai at the beginning about his responsibilities. He reluctantly has to inform Kitana that he cannot accept, that he must stay on Earth and respect his duties as Champion of Mortal Kombat. Kitana accepts this and wishes Liu Kang good luck, on all his future journeys. Kitana walks away and the portal closes. Liu Kang silently lets out some tears, saying "Goodbye, Princess Kitana." Liu Chow puts his arm on Liu Kang's shoulder and comforts him. Maybe someday, Liu Kang and Kitana will be able to live a life of peace together. Liu Kang stares out his apartment window, and wipes his tears on his sleeve. He realizes that nobody will get a life of peace that he wants if he isn't there to fight for it. Kang will continue to carry out his duties as Champion, see what destiny has in store for him, until the day that he can finally get that peace. The credits roll, ending _Mortal Kombat 4_.

Like _MK3_, the credits would consists of scenes that relay what some of the characters are doing after the event of the story. Some of these include:

\- Kai on a cliffside, contemplating. Kung Lao offered him a place with the Shaolin, but declined. Raiden appears, wanting to see him one last time before he properly ascends. Kai announce his intent to travel the world in search of enlightenment and the answers of life. Raiden gives him staff for good luck, telling him it can show him the way to immortality.

\- Sonya hunts Jarek, who fled after Shinnok's defeat. She follows him to the mountains of Japan, where she intends to arrest him. The rest plays out like Jax's _MK4_ ending, but continues slightly after where it cuts off. Jax laments Sonya's death, only for her to be sent back up the cliff by a whirlwind. It's revealed this done by Fujin, his first action as Earthrealm Protector.

\- Cyrax has regained more and more of his memories, asking for Jax and Sonya's help. Fyodor comes up with a machine that restores Cyrax's memories and free will. As thanks, he joins the IIA as an agent.

\- Sektor returns to the Lin Kuei, acting more insubordinate towards the Grandmasters. It's revealed the dark magic he was hit with corrupted his programming and it's implied he going to launch a hostile takeover of the clan.

\- Sometime later, Sonya discovers that she is pregnant with a baby girl. Johnny discusses potential, outlandish names, until Sonya suggest naming her "Cassandra."

\- Kung Lao and his girlfriend return to the Shaolin Temples. Lao is welcomed back in kindness, him in Jin having a touching reunion. He is then made the new Master.

\- Kotal, Kitana, and Goro write up a treaty between each other. Of all people, Reiko helps out with negotiations. No longer tied to Shinnok, he has no desire for evil and tries to repent for his past crimes. Due to how much he helps with it, they call the treaty "The Reiko Accords."

\- Sub-Zero visits the grave of his brother and creates a new one for the fallen Smoke. He decides to step things up and plans on finally overthrowing the current Lin Kuei soon.

\- Sindel gives a speech to her people. Thinking back to her Tanya's words, she promises to make up for the mistakes she made back then. Mileena attacks, but is captured and imprisoned alongside Tanya.

There would be no post-credits scene this time around. Instead, we would have an photo of all the heroes together, in their victory poses. We cut back to reveal it's actually a framed picture in Liu Kang's apartment and he looks happily at it as the screen fades to black. Since this ends the "Tobias Era" of the games, I'm gonna leave this saga on a brighter note. Before everything goes to hell for the characters in _Deadly Alliance _and onwards.

Man, I had a great time working on the _MK4_ Wasted Plotential. It and _MK1_ are probably the ones I'm most proud of right now. I'm so happy for how things turned out, like Liu Kang and Raiden, that I'm actually kinda sad for what happens next. It made me wonder about something I read. According to an old 2012 interview, Tobias stated that if he had stayed with Mortal Kombat the series would have continued centering the plots around Liu Kang and then his son. Just makes you wonder what could have been. Keep that point about the son in mind for later, I mean way later.

We don't have much left for the Original Timeline, the next chapters are _Deadly Alliance, Deception, Shaolin Monks, _then _Armageddon_. It seems you guys don't want a _MKvDCU_ chapter, which is fine. I'd appreciate if you'd be more specific as to why, just out of curiosity. I thought about another bonus possibility while I was at work. _Shaolin Monks_ was originally gonna be a single-player game focused on Raiden. I had the idea of doing a "What if we had a prequel game for Raiden?" plotential. Maybe go into more detail about Shinnok's first invasion, how he knows about Onaga, the other realms, and how he eventually becomes who he is in my _MK1_ WP. Tell me what you guys think about that idea. I might make it a separate Story series, since it isn't directly based on an OT game.

I hope you guys enjoyed the _MK4_ Wasted Plotential. _Deadly Alliance _might be one of the shorter ones, maybe. My knowledge of the 3D Era games and lore isn't as strong as the 2D Era, so I'm gonna have to do more thorough research on them. I will hopefully have it out by the end of next week, if work doesn't kill me beforehand. I hope you guys look forward to that!


	9. Wasted Plotential: Deadly Alliance

**WELCOME TO "WASTED PLOTENTIAL: MORTAL KOMBAT: DEADLY ALLIANCE"**

Welcome to more Wasted Plotential! This came out fast! I just kinda started working on it, thinking "I'll write some DA for a little bit then finish up later." only to end up finishing the entire piece. We are now heading into the post-Tobias games, starting with _Deadly Alliance_! I will say upfront, this gonna be more closer to my _Mythologies: Sub-Zero_ chapter. _Deadly Alliance_ is by far gonna be the shortest of these. I'm just going to be fleshing things out a bit, have characters present that really SHOULD be here, etc.. I won't be going over ALL the sub-plots because most of them I feel can stick to how they happen in the canon. I'm sorry if it doesn't feel as expansive as _MK1-MK4,_ it will likely be more like what I did for _Mythologies_ and be a short one. We are nearing the end of the Original Timeline, so let's get started on the Wasted Plotential of _Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance_!

Peace. That is what what the realms are currently experiencing. Five years have gone peacefully by, following Shinnok's defeat at the hands of the Forces of Light. We get a montage of what's been going on the past 5 years:

\- Liu Kang, continuing to live a life in New York City while working a job as a fisherman. He's been training becoming even stronger and fights the criminal underworld throughout the city.

\- Master Kung Lao and his family have finally rebuilt the Wu Shi Academy back to its state before the massacre in _MK2_.

\- Jax, Sonya, and Cyrax have been taking a ton of progress with IIA. They have destroyed countless illegal inter realm portals. They've gotten two new recruits in the past years, Hsu Hao and a mysterious swordsman named Kenshi.

\- Johnny is filming the _Mortal Kombat 4_ movie. We also see that him and Sonya have two kids now; a 4-year old daughter named Cassandra and a 1-year old son named Cody.

\- Fujin has been holding up as the new Protector of Earthrealm, while Elder God Raiden watches from above.

\- Sektor, his programming corrupted during the battle against Shinnok, began a takeover of the Lin Kuei. He killed the Grandmasters, one of which was his own father. He attempted to claim the Dragon Medallion, a symbol of leadership and power, but he was challenged by Sub-Zero.

\- Sub-Zero defeated Sektor and took the Medallion for himself. His freezing powers enhanced, Sub-Zero cast out the Cybers and began reforming the Lin Kuei. He made a new base in a temple in the Arctika lands of Manchuria. and began seeking out new warriors to aide him. This is how he came across Frost, who he took in as his student.

It seems after Shao Kahn's two defeats and Shinnok's failed invasion, that the Earth will finally be done with the conflicts between realms.

Sorry folks, this apparently can't last. A new threat always arises, this time it has potentially enough power to destroy the Forces of Light and the realms.

The Netherrealm is a deadly place where demons and the souls of evil spend all of eternity. Following Shinnok's defeat, the sorcerer Quan Chi attempted to send Scorpion back to this hellhole. The spectre managed to grab onto the sorcerer, trapping him in the Netherrealm as well.. While they were gone, Lucifer escaped from imprisonment and captured Shinnok, resuming his torture and punishment from years ago. Without Shinnok with him, Quan Chi was in a losing battle against the spectre. For 5 years, Scorpion chased Quan Chi across the Netherrealm, thrashing him every single time. The sorcerer was nearly insane from the constant chasing and was prepared to end himself to escape this torture, until he stumbled across two Oni named Moloch and Drahmin. Quan Chi enlisted their help in protecting him from Scorpion, also learning the two had a potential way for him to escape the Netherrealm. They took him to the 5th plane of the Netherrealm, where Quan Chi found an ancient structure. It housed the remnants of ancient tablets and runes dating back to the creation of the realms. Quan Chi's eye was caught by a tablet with an image that bore a strange resemblance to Shinnok's amulet. Examining the runes, he was able to unlock the amulet's hidden power to control interrealm portals. That's when Scorpion arrived and tried to attack the sorcerer. Moloch and Drahmin fought him while Quan Chi focused on opening a portal out of there. He succeeded and jumped through the portal, abandoning the two Oni to Scorpion. The spectre managed to knock the two away long enough to follow Quan Chi, finding himself in Outworld, but nowhere near where Quan Chi was transported to.

Quan Chi found himself an ancient tomb, full of mummified warriors. Finding an ancient stone slab, he learned about the Invincible Army of the Dragon King. If he could revive them, he would be able to conquer all realms with an unstoppable army. Unfortunately, the task was too great for the sorcerer to do alone. Carving the runes of the inscriptions into his flesh for future use, Quan Chi made his way out of the tomb. He sought out the one individual that could possibly help him with this endeavor.

The sorcerer Shang Tsung is wandering through the wastelands of Outworld. After Shao Kahn's invasion, him and the Emperor went into hiding from the forces of Kotal Kahn. Following constant attacks from him and the forces of Edenia, Shao Kahn irrationally lashed out at Tsung and blamed him for all his failures. He cast Tsung out and sent him fleeing into the depths of Outworld. He has spent the last two and a half years wandering aimlessly through Outworld, stealing souls and swearing that he will get back at Shao Kahn someday. He is surrounded by Outworld bandits who prepare to strike him dead, only to be saved by Quan Chi.

Quan Chi described his plan to Tsung; he would open a Soulnado to the Heavens, granting him access to an seemingly infinite supply of soul, and Tsung would help him revive the Dragon King's Army. Shang Tsung is reluctant, having been disillusioned by his repeated losses to the Forces of Light, but Quan Chi manages to sway him in the end. They form the "Deadly Alliance" and together, they will achieve total domination of ALL realms. However, they cannot act yet on their plans. There are three individuals that must be dealt, as they are the biggest threats to their conquest.

In an Outworld palace, Kotal Kahn is sitting in his war room, preparing to join his forces with the Edenians and Shokan in their attack on Shao Kahn. Suddenly, Kitana comes in with a chained up Quan Chi. She explains she caught him trying to sneak in the palace and brought him to Kotal for punishment. Kitana walks up beside Kotal as he gives a "Reason You Suck Speech" to Quan Chi. He prepares to strike him dead with his sword, when Kitana suddenly stabs him in the back with one of her fans. He turns to her and asks how she could betray him to Quan Chi, before she slashes his throat with the other fan. The last thing Kotal Kahn sees is Kitana suddenly morphing back into Shang Tsung.

A battle between the Edenians, Shokan, and Shao's forces has ended. Shao Kahn has fled, with the few forces that remain. Unfortunately, King Goro was lost in the battle, last seen being struck to death by Noob Saibot. Kitana and the Shokan host a funeral for the fallen King, promising him that they will avenge his death and get rid of Shao Kahn once and for all.

Shao Kahn is sitting in a cave, trying to recover from battle. His forces grow smaller and smaller, he hasn't been his best since his defeat at the hands of Liu Kang, 7 years ago. He is approached by Quan Chi and Shang Tsung, who deliver him the dead body of Kotal Kahn. Shao Kahn is impressed and congratulates the sorcerer, who puts the success on Quan Chi. Shao remembers him from helping resurrect Sindel, and asks for his loyalty, which Quan Chi grants. The Emperor turns his back and monologues about how Kotal's death will great increase their chances of beating the Edenians….only for him to get rushed and killed by the two sorcerers, unable to defend himself due to his weakened state. Kano emerges from the shadows and decides swears allegiance to the two. He had survived his fight with Sonya in _MK3_, thanks to Motaro healing him. He was imprisoned by Shao Kahn, but later freed by Sheeva so that he could have his help in killing Kahn for his treatment of the Shokan. Kano turned on Sheeva, told Shao Kahn about her plan, then ran her through with a sword. Shao Kahn made him a General, proving to be a great one. He kept his existence secret, leading the Forces of Light to assume he's dead.

With both Kotal and Shao now dead, only one threat remains. It just so happens that one threat is quite possibly the greatest to their rule.

We find ourselves at the Wu Shi Academy. Much like in _MK4_, Liu Kang is here on break to help train the student monks. He is alone, doing his morning exercises when Kung Lao begins approaching him. Before Liu Kang can greet him, he reveals himself as Shang Tsung and the two fight. Tsung is no match for the Champion and is defeated by Kang. Liu Kang decides to go and inform Lao about this, when he is suddenly hit by a giant Green Flaming Skull from behind, severely weakening him. Shang Tsung recovers, now standing alongside Quan Chi. Liu Kang tries to go into Firebrand state, but he finds himself too weakened by Quan Chi's sneak attack to enter it. Despite his strengths, Liu Kang fights a losing battle. Quan Chi's magic had been greatly enhanced by the amulet's new powers, which is why the Flaming Skull did so much damage. Tsung knocks him to the ground with an energy blast and, before Liu Kang can recover, grabs him and puts Kang in a choke hold. Liu Kang is unable to break out and Tsung snaps his neck with superhuman strength. The hero, the Immortal Champion of Mortal Kombat, is now dead. Shang Tsung absorbs his soul, gloating about how he has finally got his revenge on the monk after 10 long years. With all three threats dealt with, they can now return to Outworld and begin carrying out their plans.

Meanwhile in New York City, the IIA is growing concerned. Agent Cyrax has yet to return from his mission in Outworld, so they send Agent Kenshi to investigate. As Jax, Sonya, and Marshall debate as to what's taking Cyrax, they suddenly get a transmission from Fyodor. He tells them that he's been detecting strange energy readings in the underground bunkers. Jax goes to check it out, only to find Agent Hsu Hao planting an ion pulse bomb. Before Jax can stop him, he opens a portal using their techno-portals, activates the bomb, and flees. The bomb blows up the IIA base, taking out two blocks in the process. Jax emerges from the wreckage and finds Sonya, who is just barely alive. We then learn that General Marshall, Fyodor, and Gemini all were casualties of the explosion. With their inter-realm technology destroyed, Cyrax and Kenshi are now stranded in Outworld. Jax swears that one day, he will find Hsu Hao and that he will die. As the camera pans away, a familiar lighting bolt strikes nearby...

At the Shaolin Temples, Kung Lao is eating breakfast with his girlfriend; Chen Ying. They are discussing the student training today, when one of them runs in and shouts to Kung Lao to come to the Academy. There, he finds Kung Zhang and Kung Jin alongside a crowd of monks. They clear away and reveal to him the dead body of Liu Kang. Kung Lao falls to his knees, shouting angrily at the Heavens.

A few days later, the Shaolin host a funeral for Liu Kang and erect a statue in his honor. Liu Chow has also arrived for the funeral, after being informed about it by Kung Lao. The two of them are especially upset by his death. Kung Lao and Liu Kang, although they were cousins, were raised like brothers. Despite the occasional scuffle, the two were very close and his sudden death was a harsh blow to Lao. Liu Chow finally reconnected with his brother, after being seperated for over 20 years, only for him to die in less than half that time. Kung Jin points out that Kang's neck was obviously snapped, so someone murdered him. No one that they know of around the temples would want Liu Kang dead, so who could it have been? That's when Fujin arrives, informing them that it was Shang Tsung who personally killed Liu Kang with the help of Quan Chi. Kung Lao asks how he knows this, only for Raiden to appear who is no longer an Elder God. He explains that a new crisis has befallen not just Earth, but all realms. They whisk Liu Chow, Kung Lao, and Kung Jin away to the ruins of Shang Tsung's Island.

Kung Lao demands answers, but Raiden says they must wait until everyone is here. Soon, one by one, the various Forces of Light arrive. Bo' Rai Cho arrives, pleased to see Kung Lao after so long. He is surprised to see Chow and Jin here as more heroes show up. Jax, Sonya, Stryker, Kai, Frost, Sub-Zero, Kitana, all arrive through various means. At night, Johnny Cage parachutes onto the island in a tuxedo, this time missing the tree.

At this point, it's revealed that everything up to this point was Raiden relaying info to the heroes. He explains that he witnessed Kang's struggle against Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, wishing to intervene. However, he lost the vote and the Elder Gods declared they would not get involve. This is despite the fact that they are well aware of the threat the two pose to the stability of the realms. He informed Fujin of their the Deadly Alliance's plans, but he was tangled in other business and wasn't able to arrive in time to save Liu Kang, which Fujin looks at as his biggest failure and something that Liu Chow and Kung Jin could possibly resent him for.

Raiden suddenly gets very angry, cursing out the Elder Gods for their incompetence. Raiden at this point had grown close to Liu Kang and appreciates him, feeling he helped him become a better person through his development in _MK1-MK3_. This could cause Raiden to occasionally relapse into his _MK1_ persona, throughout the events of _Deadly Alliance _and foreshadow the road his character will take in _Deception _and _Armageddon_.

This is why Raiden is no longer an Elder God, he resigned back to being a lesser god so that he may directly help the Forces of Light. Shang Tsung and Quan Chi have returned to Outworld, taking up residence in Kotal Kahn's palace. To make matters worse, Quan Chi has opened up a Soulnado to the Heavens. Shang Tsung's strength is slowly increasing more and more, soon the two will be unstoppable in their quest to resurrect the Dragon King's Army. They must begin preparing their forces and strike them before it is too late.

The heroes begin training, for the battle against the Deadly Alliance. Kung Lao and Kitana ask for training under Bo' Rai Cho, who had spent 15 years training Liu Kang before the Mortal Kombat Tournament. Lao in particular wants Cho to teach him the Flying Kick, Liu Kang's signature move that he used to beat Shang Tsung a decade ago. Chow decides to also join them. He's not a fighter like his brother, all he has is a brown belt in Taekwondo. Despite that, he wants to help the Forces of Light and avenge his brother's untimely murder. Kung Jin, who is now 17 by this point in the timeline, also wants to join by Kung Lao shoots him down. Jin objects, showing off his masterful bow skills. Kung Lao just says he is too young and inexperienced, telling him to return to the Shaolin Temples which Kung Jin reluctantly does. We could also get some hinting for his return in _Deception_.

While the heroes train, we get some of the _Deadly Alliance _sub-plots shown and possibly some of them resolved. As I mentioned above, most of the sub-plots will stick to how they play out in the canon. I just don't have much I could add to them, so I won't go over them since I would just be re-iterating what happens in the actual games with no change and that wouldn't be interesting, just read the MK wiki page on _Deadly Alliance _if you want to know about them. The only real difference I'm adding is in regards to Kenshi.

In his backstory, we learn about Suchin who gave birth to his son Takeda. He met Suchin while he was training with Sendo and would later marry her. In 2000, their son Takeda was born. Since Kenshi hasn't encountered the Red Dragon yet in this timeline, his wife is still alive. This detail won't be relevant now, but it will be in _Armageddon_. Also rather than the sword giving Kenshi psychic powers, he instead would have gotten it a different way. While stuck in Outworld, he meets Ermac. As mentioned at the end of _MK3_, he had been wandering aimlessly following Shao Kahn's invasion. Kenshi is able to use the spirits of his ancestor to frees Ermac from Kahn's hold. Ermac, sensing Kenshi's latent psychic potential, unlocks the ability for Kenshi to use those powers. He helps Kenshi master his new powers, and we witness Kenshi perform the telekinetic slam on a massive 2-ton boulder. Ermac then goes on a journey to find a new purpose, possibly a hint towards his role in _Deception_. Kenshi encounters Mavado, who was sent by the Deadly Alliance to get rid of him. Despite Kenshi's new powers, he is no match for Mavado's fighting skills and is beaten, left for dead in the wastelands of Outworld.

The Forces of Light have finished their training. Kung Lao has mastered the Flying Kick while Kitana and Liu Chow have far gone beyond their previous strength thanks to Bo' Rai Cho's training. Raiden opens a portal to Outworld and that's when things start going south. On their way to Tsung and Quan's Palace, Bo' Rai Cho learns of Li Mei and her village's crisis. He decides to divert from the mission to help her, Fujin going with him at Raiden's suggestion. Sub-Zero is separated from the group when he goes searching for Frost, after she mysteriously disappears, promising to reunite with the heroes after he finds her. He is later ambushed by Frost in the Living Forest, who steals the Dragon Medallion from him. Frost tries to use it to enhance her powers, but she suddenly starts freezing. Sub-Zero tells her that she doesn't have the control necessary to contain the Medallion's energy. She freezes into a block of ice, apparently dying. Sub-Zero laments her death, blaming it on not curbing her arrogance or ambition. He takes her body and tries to find somewhere to bury her.

After we resolve the remaining sub-plots, we find the Forces of Light at the base of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi's stronghold. Raiden, Sonya, Jax, Liu Chow, Kung Lao, Kitana, Johnny Cage, Kai, and Stryker all stand together to take on the Deadly Alliance. Raiden points out the Soulnado, that it's chamber is likely where they will find the two sorcerers. They make a charge...and here's were things REALLY get bad.

An army of Tarkatans swarm out of the Palace and attack the heroes. They have fought Tarkatans in the past and defeated plenty, but never an ENTIRE army at once and with such a small group like theirs. Stryker is the first to fall, decapitated by one of the Tarkatans. The heroes fight valiantly, but the assault of this magnitude was unexpected and they were way ill-prepared. Jax, Sonya, and Johnny Cage fall before they can reach the second staircase. Kung Lao and Kitana are the only two that manage to get inside the Palace and head for the Soulnado Chamber. Liu Chow, Kai, and Raiden are left to fight the Tarkatan horde. Raiden wonders how they got so many Tarkatans on their side, when he realizes how much of a fool he'd been and curses his arrogance. With Shao Kahn's death, the Tarkatans would naturally swear loyalty to the next Emperor. After they murdered Shao Kahn and Kotal Kahn, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi became the new Emperors of Outworld, explaining where they amassed such a large army. Raiden realizes that, this time around, the bad guys are not pulling ANY punches. He wants to retreat, but it is too late. Retreating might just give Shang Tsung and Quan Chi enough time to succeed in reviving the Dragon King's Army. Liu Chow is impaled in the stomach and head by a tarkatan and Kai is slashed across the throat. With all his outside forces finished, Raiden blasts through the tarkatan army and heads inside the Palace.

Kung Lao and Kitana reach the Chamber, just before Quan Chi and Shang Tsung can finish their plan. Tsung monologues and brags about Liu Kang's death, saying the two are no match for this deadly alliance! This just makes Kung Lao angrier, saying that although he doesn't have Kang's Firebrand powers, his own strength will be enough to defeat you. He won't let Earthrealm fall to the likes of them! He surprises Shang Tsung by flying kicking him in the face while Kitana goes an attacks Quan Chi. He at one point tries to do to Kung Lao what he did to Liu Kang, weaken him with a giant Green Flaming Skull. Lao anticipates this and dodges it, the skull hitting Shang Tsung instead. After a long fight, Kung Lao has Shang Tsung on the ropes. The sorcerer begs for mercy, but Kung Lao will grant none and prepares to finish him. It seems the Forces of Light will win once more….until the unthinkable happens.

Quan Chi is successful in defeating Kitana, impaling her with his sword. No longer distracted by her, he is able to prevent Kung Lao from striking down Shang Tsung. In a mirror of Liu Kang's defeat, the two begin fighting Kung Lao together and he is too weakened from his 1-on-1 with Tsung to stand up to both sorcerers at once. Shang Tsung finishes Kung Lao by morphing into Liu Kang and doing a flaming punch through Lao's chest.

Raiden arrives in the chamber a short while after, finding the corpses of Kung Lao and Kitana. His sadness over their deaths quickly turns to blind rage, as yells for Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. The two sorcerers reveal themselves and show they have succeeded in reviving the Dragon King's Army. All the remains is to deal with Raiden before they continue their plan to conquer all realms. The Thunder God fights valiantly against the two sorcerers, driven by hatred and anger. He actually has the upper hand against the two, nearly defeating them. Tsung has Quan Chi distract Raiden, while he absorbs over 100 souls very quickly from the Soulnado. He uses his increased power to knock Raiden back with a fireball. From there, the combined power of the sorcerers become too much for Raiden. The battles ends with Quan Chi levitating Raiden into the air before Shang Tsung strikes him down with another fireball, knocking out Raiden. The two sorcerers gloat and laugh madly. After all these years, the Forces of Darkness have won. It pans up from the two laughing to the Soulnado and then to the undead army, waiting for their orders. Smash cut to black, and the credits roll.

After the credits, we find ourselves back at the Soulnado Chamber. Quan Chi suddenly ceases the Soulnado, stripping Shang Tsung of his source of power. He plans on defeating Shang Tsung, destroy Raiden's essence with the amulet, and take the Army all for himself. Tsung declares the Deadly Alliance dissolved and the two fight. Quan Chi wins, goes over to the army and starts giving them orders….only they aren't listening. The sorcerer hears large steps that shake the ground. The undead army turn to kneel towards the doorway to the chamber. Quan Chi turns with horror, just as Tsung and Raiden regain their senses. The three of them see a large, hulking figure enter the doorway. They are all terrified as a music sting plays and another smash cut to black with the words; "TO BE CONTINUED…"

Thus, that is the end of _Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance_. After being successful in the previous four games, the Forces of Light finally suffer defeat. My main focuses were flesh out the backstory, the defeat, and make the two sorcerers work together more in the death of Liu Kang, especially with how strong he's been established. Like I said, this more like _Mythologies_. Most of the story stays the same, just adding or changing details and fleshing things out. This is actually the first WP since _MK2_ to just be a single part. I can ensure you that _Deception _will not be a single part.

The _Deception_ chapters will take longer to get out. I need to play Konquest mode/watch the cutscenes, as my knowledge of the story is rather rusty. I know some general things and I already know some of the rewrites that I'll be doing. I certainly like the idea of Konquest's story from what I know, but the execution seems not to have been the best. I'll be aiming for a May 25th/26th release for the first part, at least. That'll be a long one since I have to not only do a new version of the Konquest mode's story, but the post-Konquest story as well. I think it might end up actually being more then 2 parts! I hope you guys look forward to that, as we near closer and closer to the end of the Original Timeline.


	10. Wasted Plotential: Deception (Part 1)

**WELCOME TO "WASTED PLOTENTIAL- MORTAL KOMBAT: DECEPTION"**

It's time for another Wasted Plotential, this time on _Deception_. This will be a long one as we got to not only cover my new version of Konquest, but also the post-Konquest story. This might actually lead to _Deception_ being three parts instead of two, but we'll see. A few things before we get started:

Unless I bring them up, character subplots pretty happen as they do in the actual canon. This is because I either don't have a problem/anything to add or that there is so many to go over that I just can't give them all equal focus. I'll mostly focus on characters relevant to Konquest and post-Konquest.

Since Shujinko's quest takes place over several years, I will be using time and location stamps in similar style to the title above, preceding a paragraph when it notably changes.

Some character roles will be dropped or rewritten, since I noticed that some of their apperances don't make sense with the timeline and/or Konquest wasn't clear enough with the time gaps for me to make an accurate judgement on that.

With that out of the way, let's get started on the Wasted Plotential for _Mortal Kombat: Deception_!

**RURAL CHINA**

**THE VILLAGE OF DAMASHI**

**1954**

It's a peaceful day in the village of Damashi. This little community is famous for its strong fighters. The reputation is mostly thanks to Master Bo' Rai Cho, who occasionally comes to this village to teach warriors and even takes some of the best back to his palace in the mountains for further training. We see Cho walking down the roads of the village when a boy walks out of the houses to greet him. He's an 8-year old boy named Shujinko, who is apparently well acquainted with Master Cho as he trained his grandfather back in the day. The two have some friendly banter and bond, Shujinko asking Master Cho if he'll train him when he gets older. Master Cho says he'll consider it as they run into monk Ling, Shujinko's previously mentioned grandfather. He is heading out to visit the Shaolin Temples. We get an idea of how close Shujinko and his grandfather are. Before he leaves, he hands Shujinko a late birthday gift. A shiny bronze medallion, with the MK logo on it. This would be visibly seen on Shujinko's person throughout the story. His grandpa departs, Master Cho and Shujinko waving goodbye.

Later that evening, Ling is walking down the dirt road towards the Temples. We see some shadowy figures sneak towards him, unclear who they are. Ling can sense their presence and yells at them to come out, assuming a fighting stance. The shadowy figures attack and quickly overwhelm him, knocking him to the ground. One of the figures charges his fist with some sort of red energy, that he fires at Ling just before the scene cuts away.

The following morning, Shujinko wakes up to find his father and Master Cho waiting outside. They reveal to him that his grandfather is dead, his body mutilated beyond recognition. Shu awkward laughs at first, thinking they are just pulling his chain. Their stone-faced silence makes him realize that they aren't joking. He rushes down to the morgue, despite Dad and Cho's protests. Shu finds Ling's body on a table, with a blanket draped over it. He removes the blanket and sees his grandfather's corpse. He starts bawling out, Cho and Dad arriving to comfort him. The screen fades to black and, after a pause, cuts back to a sunrise.

**DAMASHI**

**8 YEARS LATER…**

The camera pans down to a park, where some martial art students are practicing and messing around. We see Shujinko, now 16 and resembling himself from the start of Konquest, playing around with his friend Wang. Shu boasts about how he is a mighty warrior and will defeat the great Shang Tsung at the Mortal Kombat Tournament. Wang, pretending to be Tsung, sends out Goro who is just two kids on each others shoulders. Before they can continue, a gong rings signaling the start of class. Shu and Wang head to the Dojo alongside the other students, where they run into Cho. This is last day before he heads back to his Palace, which excites the students since he usually takes some back with him to go under more intense training. At the request of the students, Cho decides to a hold a spar to show off the basics to the more inexperienced students. He picks out Shujinko, much to his shock. His nerves get the best of him, as Cho unintentionally ends up making him look like a damn fool.

That evening, after a long day of training, Master Cho is ready to head back home. The students line up as Cho decides to pick some to bring with him. At one point, it seems like is going to pick Shu. However, Cho shakes his head and picks the person next to him instead. He leaves and Shujinko is upset by being ignored. Wang tries to comfort him, but Shu just heads out in disappointment.

Before Cho leaves with his group, Shujinko confronts him. Cho tells him that he is too young and inexperienced to leave Damashi yet. Shu insists that he is, only for Cho to instantly knock Shu on the ground and pin him. He needs to learn more before he is ready to go out into world or compete in Mortal Kombat. He'll return to Damashi in 3 months, so train in that meantime. If Shujinko proves his kombat skills are good enough then, he can leave the town and possibly come train with him. Bo' Rai Cho and his group leave, saying goodbye to the villagers as the gate shuts behind.

Dejected, Shujinko sulks to the village graveyard. He visits Ling's grave, today is the 8-year anniversary of his death. Shu talks to the grave, telling it all about his life recently. Suddenly the wind picks up and nearly blows Shujinko away. A sphere of pure red energy appears before him, greeting Shujinko by name. Shu is shocked, the voice of the energy being is none other then his grandfather's! The being reveals himself to be the spirit of Ling, having been granted this form by the Elder Gods, becoming an emissary. He explains that the realms are in crisis that threatens the very existence of the universe. This is why he was murdered, that he was on to the crisis and the forces against them decided to kill him before he could get very far. Shujinko, just happy to be with his grandfather again, decides to carry on his work and asks what he must do. Ling tells him he will travel to many strange realms to seek out six mystical items, Unfortunately, he cannot leave the village as per Bo' Rai Cho's words. To help him get stronger, he grants Shujinko a special power. This will allow him to absorb the knowledge and fighting moves of other warriors, allowing him to quickly become a great fighter. He instructs Shujinko to use this power to learn from the village's other warriors and train until Bo' Rai Cho's return. Ling will contact him again once he proves himself to Cho and he disappears. Shujinko is ecstatic, finally he can fulfill his dream of becoming a hero, leave the village, and train under Cho. He swears that he will not fail his grandfather, before running off to train.

3 months later, we find Shujinko in the middle of some rather intense training, maybe a montage. Wang arrives to inform Shu of Master Bo' Rai Cho's return and the two head over to see him. As Cho is greeted by the villagers, Shujinko walks up and challenges him to Mortal Kombat. Shu's father pulls him back, calling him foolish for challenging Master Cho like that. Despite his objections, Cho accepts the challenge and the two fight. It's during this fight that Shujinko gains some of Bo' Rai Cho's moves and at least one of his fighting styles. Shujinko defeats Cho, much to the shock of the villagers. Cho stands up and after a brief silence, laughs and pats Shujinko on the back. He says that he has proved himself and to pack his belongings, they leave in two weeks. Wang and Shujinko celebrate, he is going to train with Bo' Rai Cho himself!

Shujinko heads home to pack, when Ling reappears. He congratulates Shu for succeeding and now he must tell him more about his quest. The six items he will search for are called the "Kamidogu." They were ancient tools of the Elder Gods, but they were hidden away after they feared that the mortals would steal and misuse them. The impending doom of the realms can be stopped if all six Kamidogu are retrieved and returned to the Elder Gods. Each one is hidden in a different realm, he'll need to travel to the Nexus between realms. Once Shujinko has found the first Kamidogu in Earthrealm, he will instruct him further. Ling disappears once more.

Shujinko's father walks in and the two have a talk together. He tells Shu how proud he is of him and wishes Shu luck on all his future journeys. Two weeks later, Shujinko leaves home and is watched on by the villagers, his dad, and Wang as he leaves the village with Bo' Rai Cho. The gates slam shut behind him and the screen cuts to black.

**IN A VAST VALLEY, SOMEWHERE IN THE MOUNTAINS OF CHINA**

**BO' RAI CHO'S PALACE**

**1967**

Bo' Rai Cho walks into the training yard, where Shujinko and some of the other students are practicing. Cho challenges Shujinko to a fight, which Shu wins. He tells Shujinko his training is complete, he has nothing more to teach him. He has grown a lot over these last 5 years, learning very fast compared to the other students. Shujinko asks would he should do, now that his training is complete. Bo' Rai Cho tells him experience is the key and that he must go out and see the world for himself. His first challenge will be exiting the valley, requiring him to navigate the harsh mountain trails to reach the chinese countryside. Before he leaves, he gifts Shujinko a Warrior's Medal. It will show his credibility as a fighter to other learned warriors. Shu thanks Cho for the gift and says his goodbyes to the other students as he leaves the Palace.

Shujinko ventures through the valley and over the unforgiving, dangerous mountain trails. After exiting the mountain range, Ling appears to him once more. Though disappointed in Shu's lack of progress in the quest, he nevertheless commends him for what he has learned and his fortitude in making it through the mountains alone. He suggests Shujinko head north and that he'll contact him again soon. Shujinko says he'll do as his grandfather tells him and begins traveling as Ling disappears.

A couple weeks later, we find Shujinko climbing over a snowy hill. He discovers a large temple at the base of a snow-covered mountain. He notices a strange man in fancy garb alongside what appear to be two ninjas. Shujinko approaches them and is nearly assassinated by the two ninjas. The other man, reveals this is the temple of the legendary assassin clan, the Lin Kuei. Any non-member who discovers their Temple must be killed and the ninjas prepare to finish him. That's when the Warrior's Medal falls from Shujinko's person. The man, who is a Lin Kuei Grandmaster, is shocked to see it and tells his two warriors to stop. Shu picks the medal back up as the Grandmaster asks where he gained such a prize. After learning he earned it from training with Bo' Rai Cho, the Grandmaster's demeanor quickly changes. He offers to train Shujinko in the Lin Kuei techniques, under Sub-Zero. This Sub-Zero would actually be the grandfather of Bi-Han and Kuai Liang. Shujinko accepts the offer and is escorted inside the temple by the Grandmaster.

**2 YEARS OF HARSH LIN KUEI TRAINING LATER...**

Shujinko defeats Sub-Zero in a spar, who is impressed at how quickly Shu has learned his and the Lin Kuei's techniques. We could have a throwaway line about this Sub-Zero going to pass the title to his son soon, and hopefully he'll do the same to his own children one day. The Grandmaster shows up and declares Shujinko a Lin Kuei warrior now. His first mission is to join a group of their warriors on a mission in the west. They are trying to secure an artifact before the Red Dragon manages to do so. He warns Shu that the Lin Kuei warriors will likely strike him dead if he doesn't give the password first, "Ice Dragon." Shujinko thanks the Grandmaster and will do as he commands.

Shujinko travels west, soon finding himself in a dense forest. He grows frustrated as he wonders where exactly in the west he was supposed to find the other Lin Kuei, when he hears voices. Shujinko sneaks up to a clearing, where Lin Kuei warriors and Red Dragon goons are fighting. The Lin Kuei get their butts kicked and are nearly killed when Shujinko runs in to save them. He defeats the goons and sends them running. One of the Lin Kuei warriors asks who he is, Shujinko just responding with the password. Realizing he is one of them, the warrior hands Shujinko a strange blue and green orb. There are more Red Dragon not far from here, so he must hurry out of the forest as fast as he can. Before Shu can ask what exactly the orb is or who the Red Dragon are, the warrior dies from his injuries. He hears the footsteps of the Reds and quickly makes his escape.

Just after he makes it out of the forest, Ling appears once again. Shujinko shows him the orb and is weirded out when Ling starts laughing cheerfully. In the Lin Kuei's ignorance, they have led Shujinko to the first Kamidogu! There is an ancient shrine to the southeast, where he can use it to open a portal to the Nexus. Shujinko is reluctant, since he promised to take the orb to the Lin Kuei. Ling, somewhat annoyed, reminds his grandson that his loyalty is to the Elder Gods and not the Lin Kuei. Shu says he understands as Ling disappears. He thinks it strange that his grandfather would act like that, but decides to brush it off as he heads southeast.

He eventually reaches the strange shrine and is ordered by Ling to raise the Kamidogu into the air. It opens a swirling portal of green energy that Shujinko almost enters, before he is attacked by Sub-Zero. For betraying the Lin Kuei, he must die! This would be the boss for the Earthrealm segment of the game.

Shujinko defeats Sub-Zero and heads inside the portal, ending up in the Nexus. The place resembles a large, rocky wasteland with a shrine and altar in the center. Under Ling's orders, he places the Earth Kamidogu on the altar and a new portal opens up. This one swirls with a strange dark energy and the two enter.

The two arrive in a city within the Netherrealm, where demons and evil beings reside. Ling tells Shujinko that he will likely find the Kamidogu in the deepest parts of this hell, but notices Shujinko seems distracted. He mentions that he was always told that only living beings tainted with evil can survive in the Netherrealm. Ling brushes it off, saying that he might have been corrupted a bit during his time with the Lin Kuei. This shocks Shu, who can't ask anything further as Ling disappears. He decides not to focus on it for now and continues his journey.

As he is about to leave the city, Shujinko is attacked by a squad of demons. He is almost killed when Ashrah jumps in, who strikes the creeps with her enchanted sword. Suddenly, the monsters become pacificed and saunter away. She helps Shujinko up, asking who he is as he does not seem to belong here. He explains his quest and asks Ashrah about that mysterious sword. She doesn't say too much other then it allows her to pacify the darkness within evil beings, when used as a fatal blow, and that it is her ticket out of here one day. Seeing as he is ill-prepared to deal with the horrors of the Netherrealm, she offers to train Shujinko alongside other Netherrealm inhabitants at the temple outside of town, in return for a favor. She warns the training will be long and difficult, but Shu tells her he can handle anything. The two head over and, after helping Ashrah counter Baraka (he was hear under Shao Kahn's orders since Ashrah had been taking care of his Netherrealm allies), Shujinko begins learning from the wise demon.

**4 YEARS OF INTENSE TRAINING PASS BY…**

(Side note: It never actually states in the game how long Shujinko spends in the Netherrealm, but Damashi says it's been years since he last saw Shujinko when they meet up again. Since Shu looks the same at the start and end of the Netherrealm section, I didn't make the time gap too big. I wish the mode was a bit more clear on the time gaps)

Ashrah tells Shujinko that she has nothing more to each him. Shu is about to continue on his quest, when Ashrah reminds him of the favor. She goes more into the sword's history. The more evil beings she pacifies, the more pure she'll become. Since beings without darkness are not allowed in the Netherrealm, she will ascend from this hellhole if she becomes fully pure hearted. Rumor has it that a being named Ermac is wondering the Netherrealm. She believes that she will ascend much faster if she pacifies Ermac and that's her favor. Find the being known as Ermac and lead him back to the Temple. Shujinko agrees to the favor, it's the least he could do since she spent all that time training him.

Navigating the confusing wastelands of the Netherrealm, Shujinko finds Ermac near the ruins of an ancient shrine. He at first thinks Shujinko is an enemy from Earthrealm and the two fight. After Shu defeats Ermac, the latter questions who exactly he is and why he's here. Shu tells him about his quest, making sure to leave out the stuff about Ashrah. Ermac sees this as a good opportunity to get some help from an experienced adventurer. Shao Kahn sent him here to find a powerful demon, but there's a problem. The lower planes of the Netherrealm have some sort of weird magic draining problem, he's growing weaker by the second. He tasks Shujinko with finding a Soul Stone that can be used to replenish their strength. In return, he will provide Shujinko with info regarding his quest and teach him a few techniques.

To find the Soul Stone, Shujinko must navigate the Soul Labyrinth. It would be a tricky maze, full of mind-bending puzzles. This is more interesting then just walking for a bit and finding it immediately. Before Shujinko can claim it, he is attacked by an Oni which acts as a sort of sub-boss for this world. He defeats it, retrieves the Soul Stone, and returns to Ermac. The red ninja is pleased with Shujinko's success, and this is when he learns the Ermac moves. After the teaching, Shujinko decides to ask who the demon he is looking for is. When it's revealed to be Ashrah, Shu tells him about his encounter with her. Ermac runs off to face her, but Shujinko reminds him about the info he mentioned earlier. He hands Shujinko a Jinsei Diamond and tells him to take it to a shrine in the Bog of the Dead. Ermac warns Shujinko not to step into the bog, or the souls of damned will pull him in, never to be seen again.

Shujinko locates the Bog and navigates the treacherous paths and jumps, eventually making it to the island in the center. He uncovers the shrine and finds a large altar with a hole in it. He places the diamond inside and suddenly the ground shakes around him. A pedestal raises out of the ground, revealing the Netherrealm Kamidogu.

After retrieving it, Shujinko makes his way back to the city where he finds Ashrah and Ermac fighting. Before Shujinko can break it up, Ling reappears. He briefly mentions exasperation at the start of his dialog, about being called again, like in the game. We also learn about how he yearns to return to the physical world, with Shujinko saying it would be great for his grandfather to come back to life. Ling seems to stumble on his words as he whisks Shu back to the Nexus.

Shujinko is just about to place the Kamidogu on the altar, when he is attacked by a monster named Te Deum, claiming to be the Elder Gods Champion. The two fight, this being the main boss of the Netherrealm section. Shu defeats Deum, who is blasted into the distance by Ling. Shujinko is shocked that his grandfather would do such a thing, but he just tells Shu to place the Kamidogu on the altar, in an annoyed tone. Shu does so, opening the portal to the next realm.

Shujinko finds himself in the Realm of Chaos, which Ling explains the history of. The two don't walk that far in, when they come across a large graveyard. They are stopped from entering by a cloaked figure, who warns them that a mysterious wraith has claimed this land in the name of the Brotherhood of Shadow. Shu offers to take care of the wraith for the man, which the cloaked figure seems reluctant to allow, not seeing much chaos within Shujinko. Ling is able to convince the man to let Shu try, giving Shu some words of wisdom before disappearing once more.

Shujinko encounters the wraith, who declares the graveyard property of the Brotherhood of Shadow. Since this is supposed to take place years before Bi-Han's death, we can't have it actually be Noob. I noticed that some of the character appearances don't make that much sense with the timeline.

Anyway, Shujinko defeats the wraith. He informs the cloaked figure about this, who thanks him by giving him a shiny red stone. When asked about the Kamidogu, he says he has no idea what Shujinko is talking about. He suggests that Shu explore the realm, and maybe he'll find someone who can answer his questions.

Shujinko travels through the realm, eventually coming across a large gate. Before Shu can open it, he is ambushed and put in a choke hold by Havik. He tells Shujinko to state his name and purpose or have his neck snapped like a twig. Shu tells him who he is and that he is an adventurer seeking relics. When Havik learns that he is an adventurer, he lets Shujinko go and tells him he could use someone like him. There are four guards from Seido, a realm of Order, trying to restrict the flow of their water. He hands Shujinko four Chaos pendants and orders him to defeat each guard and put one of the pendants around their neck. This will break the bondage of order and let them see the truth of chaos. If he does so, he'll help Shujinko's quest and teach him the art of Chaos. Shujinko agrees and Havik gives him directions to the water plant, thus Shu sets off.

He eventually arrives at the plant, running into another cloaked man. The man tells Shujinko that he is trying to destroy the restrictions the Seido guards have put on the plant, but their presence makes it impossible to do so. Shu informs him of what Havik wanted him to do, so the figure points out where he believes each of the guards to be. Carry out his plan and he can take care of the previously mentioned restrictions.

Shujinko tracks down the four guards, defeats them, and sticks the Chaos pendants on each one. This converts them to the ways of chaos and they help the cloaked man in restoring the water, bringing it back to the citizens of chaosrealm. The civilians cheer as the cloaked man thanks Shu for his help. He tells him to meet Havik in a town to the south, handing Shujinko a shiny blue stone.

He returns to Havik, who thanks him for showing the truth of chaos to guards. Havik has sent them off on a mission to Seido, the realm of Order. When Shujinko reminds him of his promise from earlier, Havik instead mocks him and attacks. Shu defeats Havik who acts as the boss for the Chaosrealm segment, who commends him from surviving his assault and learning the ways of chaos. Though, he does admit he would have killed Shujinko if he had the chance. He tells Shujinko that there is an ancient relic in a vast dungeon to the southwest. He hands Shujinko a shiny green stone and a key to unlock the dungeon. Shu thanks him for everything and continues on his journey.

Shujinko eventually finds the dungeon and uses the key to unlock it. Since this is the realm of Chaos, the dungeon would have some sort of chaotic aesthetic and level design. Lots of traps and strange, out there puzzles. The red, blue, and green shiny stones Shujinko had obtained during his time in the realm would be used for the last puzzle, maybe like "which key goes where" kind of deal. In the room with the Kamidogu, Shujinko notices he has to cross a strange pool of Jinsei-like energy to reach it. After grabbing the Kamidogu and escaping the pool, he feels noticeably different. He leaves the dungeon and Ling appears, who points out Shujinko's aged appearance. Turns out that pool had some strange time properties, approximately 8 years passed by while Shu was in the pool, but it seemed like only a couple of minutes mentally. Shu is taken aback by this, but Ling just says he should just be glad he didn't age to dust in there. Ling tells Shujinko that he must return to the Nexus and explore the next realm.

Shu returns to the altar and places the Kamidogu there. A new portal opens up, but he seems lost in thought. Ling asks what's wrong, Shujinko saying that he has been on this journey for nearly 20 years now. He is starting to grow weary of this adventure and wonders when it will be over, so he can continue living his own life. Ling states that he must put aside his own desires if he wishes to save the realms, which Shujinko thinks that kinda sucks. He asks what exactly Ling has been doing while he's been out adventuring, but Ling strangely dodges the question. He redirects Shujinko's focus to the new portal and two head through, to a new realm.

**TO BE CONTINUED IN PART II**


	11. Wasted Plotential: Deception (Part 2)

Shujinko arrives in a desolate realm, filled with large wastelands. Ling tells him this is Outworld, a realm that Shujinko is well aware of through the stories of the Mortal Kombat Tournament. When Shu mentiones that Shao Kahn is Emperor of Outworld, Ling becomes notably upset. Seeing Shu is distressed about this, Ling explains the history of Outworld. Many ages ago, Outworld was unified under a highly skilled and beloved ruler. He was Onaga, the Dragon King. Back then, Shao Kahn was a mere advisor to the great Onaga. The Dragon King greatly respected Shao Kahn, going so far as to name his heir. Unfortunately, Kahn could not wait for Onaga to pass from natural causes. His lust for the throne and greed for power grew and grew, until he made his move. He slipped a colorless, odorless, tasteless poison into Onaga's drink during a large feast. Though it happened slowly, Onaga eventually died from the poisoning and Shao Kahn took over as Emperor of Outworld. He is responsible for the majority of Outworld becoming dangerous, desolate wastelands as Shujinko sees before him. Ling warns Shujinko to always be on his guard, promising to contact him again when he finds the Outworld Kamidogu.

Unsure of where to go, Shujinko begins wandering through the wastelands. He eventually ends up in a mountainous region, spotting a walled-in city in the distance. Shujinko arrives at the gates, but cannot get any answer from the other side. Mileena surrounds Shu, with a group of tarkatans. Since this is years before _MK2_, she sports her design from that game and has a more restrained, sane personality. She believes Shujinko is from the city and fights him personally. After Shu defeats Mileena, he shows her the Warrior's Medal, which impresses the assassin. She tells Shujinko that this is the city of Lei Chen. Recently, the City's leader defied Shao Kahn's law and disrespected the Emperor. Mileena and the tarkatans are there to demand the leader's surrender for execution, or the city and its inhabitants will be destroyed. Shujinko is horrified by this and asks if he can try and reason with the leader. Since he bested her in kombat, Mileena decides to allow this. There is still the problem of Shujinko getting in the city gates, but Mileena just easily kicks the gates open and tells Shujinko to get a move on.

He approaches the leader, who introduces himself as Lord Zeffero. Shujinko informs him that he is to surrender himself for death or everyone in this city will die. Zeffero angrily refuses to give himself up, even to save his own people, which Shujinko calls him out on. After seeing there is no way he can convince Zeffero, Shujinko asks if there is anything he can do to help the city against Shao Kahn's forces. Zeffero says there might just be something he can do. Find a way to the order realm of Seido and recruit their elite guardsmen to aid them against Shao Kahn. Their warriors are even greater then Kahn's and they can't resist the chance to undermine him. Shujinko promises he will go to them, if he can find a way to Seido. However, Zeffero tells him that Seido will want something as payment for their services. He's heard rumors of a treasure in the Living Forest, he should ask the Oracle about it. The Oracle resides in a cave to the north of the city, he gives Shu the Lord's Decree, to prove that he sent him. Shujinko promises he won't fail Zeffero and leaves the city. Mileena asks if everything went according to plan and Shujinko struggles to come up with a satisfying answer. Shu lies and tells her that Zeffero will surrender if he fetches something for his village, which Mileena seems okay with.

Shujinko makes his way north, eventually coming across a large cave in the side of a mountain. An Outworld warrior blocks entry, but lets Shujinko through when he shows him the Lord's Decree. He finds himself in a lavish room, full of magic trinkets and potions. The Oracle, a mysterious figure clad in blue and white, calls Shujinko forth. She knows all and has watched his entire quest, past, present, and future. Shu, mesmerized by the Oracle's words, asks what lies in store for his quest. The Oracle tells Shujinko that his quest still has many years to go and we will emerge wiser, stronger for it. Shu is unimpressed with those words, wishing for actual details. She unfortunately cannot provide too much, the further into the future she sees, the more vague things become. He asks about the treasure in the Living Forest, the Oracle telling him their is a place there called the "Living Maze." A treacherous, deceiving forest maze that countless people have gotten lost in, never to be seen again. In the heart of the maze, Shujinko will find the treasure that he desires. She gives Shu the Crystal of Vision, which will aid him in navigating the maze. Shujinko thanks her and is about to leave, when the Oracle suddenly calls out to him. She warns Shu that someone is misleading or will mislead Shujinko, and this deception will lead to armageddon. Shu asks how he can prevent this from happening and who is doing the deception, but she cannot tell. All she sees is nothing but red in her visions. Shujinko swears that this deception will not happen, but the Oracle tells Shu that he cannot fight fate. He rejects these words and leaves, as the Oracle quietly hopes that he is right.

Shujinko makes his way to the Living Forest, trying to find the Living Maze. He comes across Kitana and Jade, who were sent to the forest to recover the treasure for Shao Kahn. The three team-up to navigate the forest, using their skills together, and they eventually find the starting point of the Living Maze. When Shujinko accidentally reveals he has a trinket to help him through the Maze, the two betray and attack him, acting as the bosses for the Outworld section. Shu defeats the two, as they are worried that their failure in defeating Shujinko and to retrieve the treasure will mean punishment from Shao Kahn. Before Shujinko can apologize and offer them something to appease Shao Kahn, the two throw a smoke bomb and disappear.

He begins exploring the maze, which would work similar to the Lost Woods. Use your surroundings to judge the right path, pick wrong and you are sent back to the starting point. If the player does not have the Crystal of Vision, then they will not be able to see the later tells of the maze. Shujinko eventually arrives in a clearing with a large altar. He curiously finds a slot in the altar, in the shape of the crystal. He slips it in and the Outworld Kamidogu rises out from the ground, on a pedestal.

Shortly after, Ling reappears. He's surprised that it he found the Kamidogu so soon and tells Shujinko he must return to the Nexus right away. Shu mentions that he promised Lord Zeffero that he would deliver it to Seido as payment, so they would help them against Shao Kahn's forces. Ling angrily points out that the Kamidogu belongs to the Elder Gods and that it will NOT be used as meager bargaining chip. At this point, Shujinko grows exasperated with his grandfather, calling him out on his strange behavior and disregard for others. Ling calms down and apologizes, saying the stress and worry of the realms has been getting to him. He suggests that Shujinko over control of the city to Seido instead. The Seido love that kind of stuff so they can spread their beliefs of order. This will allow Lei Chen to get the much deserved protection it needs and they get to keep the Kamidogu. Shujinko seems reluctant, but ultimately agrees with his grandfather's suggestion. Ling wishes Shu luck, telling him he will contact him again once he enters Seido. Shujinko navigates back to the Nexus, places the Kamidogu on the altar, and enters the portal to the next realm.

He soon finds himself in a clean, pristine temple. Shu steps outside, noticing how nice and orderly everything seems to be around here. Ling appears and welcomes him to Seido, the realm of order. After explaining their history, Shu is ready to start looking until Ling stops him. He warns Shujinko to avoid entangling himself in the law system of Seido. They enforce their laws without mercy, as they built this civilization on the concept of structure and organization. Breaking or deviating these laws is not tolerated, at all. Though Shu thinks he'll be fine, he tells Ling that he will be very careful. Ling wishes him good luck and disappears once more.

Navigating the city, Shujinko comes across a group of Seiden guards training. He almost walks straight up to them but, remembering Ling's words, he stands off to the side and waits for the group to finish. Several hours later, they finally finish and Shujinko walks up to the most fancy looking guard there. He introduces himself as Commander Hotaru and asks Shu to state his name and business. Shujinko tells Hotaru that he is an emissary of Lei Chen, a city in Outworld. They are under the threat of attack from Shao Kahn and are in desperate need of a defense. Reluctantly, Shujinko offers control of the city in return for Seiden assistance. Hotaru would love to help, especially to thwart anything related to Shao Kahn, but he is too busy. The Resistance has been making many advances lately and they to squash them soon. He tells Shujinko that if he helps them, he'll arrange a few things and help Lei Chen. Shujinko agrees to the terms and asks where they do start. First, he must train under Hotaru for a month to become an honorary Seiden guard as it is against the law to partake in an assault without being one.

Shujinko completes this training and Hotaru compliments him on his skill. As they finish, a guard wanders up and hands Hotaru a slip of paper. He chuckles, saying this perfect timing. He tells Shujinko that the leader of the Resistance, Darrius, is leading a riot in the marketplace of the city. Hotaru tells Shujinko to confront Darrius and arrest him, they'll be there to back him up if things go poorly. Shu says he'll do as he says and makes his way over to the marketplace.

He arrives in the marketplace and pushes his way through the crowd of rioters to face Darrius. The man welcomes Shujinko, asking if he wishes to speak his mind about the realm of order and their oppression. Shu wonders what oppression he is talking about and Darrius gives him a speech about how restrictive and oppressing the Seido government is. He seems to be briefly convinced by Darrius's words, but he regains his composure and tells Darrius he is under arrest by orders of Hotaru. Darrius laughs and challenges Shujinko to kombat, which Shu agrees to. After defeating Darrius, Hotaru and the guards arrive to arrest him. Before he can though, fellow resistance members attack and take Darrius away. The riot clears and Shujinko apologizes to Hotaru that they couldn't catch Darrius. Hotaru just thanks him for clearing the riot and begins making preparations to head to Lei Chen. He tells Shujinko to meet him in Outworld as soon as possible.

Shujinko makes his way back to the Nexus, through the portal to Outworld, and then back to the city of Lei Chen. He sees signs of a battle and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees the city is intact. Shujinko wanders inside and meets up with Hotaru. He has successfully defended the city from Mileena and the tarkatans, and he will stay until the city no longer needs him. Shujinko looks around and asks where Lord Zeffero is. Hotaru tells him that he did not remember their agreement so as punishment, he stripped Zeffero of his title and banished him to the wastelands. Shujinko looks a bit sheepish about this as Hotaru tells him he is in control of the city and will help teach it the ways of order. He suggest Shujinko continue with his travels, which the latter says he really should do after all these distractions.

Shujinko returns to the Nexus, where Ling appears once more. He congratulates Shu on his accomplishments so far and tells him that the Elder Gods have decided to give him a reward. They have been watching Shujinko since he was a child, so they know about his dream to compete in Mortal Kombat. He tells Shujinko to go to Earthrealm, find Shang Tsung, and convince him to invite Shu to the tournament. It's a bit of a diversion from the quest, but he's deserving of something for all his hard work. Shujinko cheerfully and childishly thanks Ling, making his way back through the portal to Earth.

Back at Earth, Shujinko boards a boat to Shang Tsung's Island fortress in the East China Sea. He sneaks in the palace, avoiding the guards, and arrives at Shang Tsung's throne room. He finds it completely empty, until Goro appears from the shadows of the room. He sends Reptile after him, whom Shu dispatches. Him and Goro almost fight when the doors open and Shang Tsung walks in, back in his _MK1_ look. Shu tells Tsung of his desire to compete in Mortal Kombat, the sorcerer just telling him that he is 11 years too early and to take a hike as he sits in his throne. Shujinko asks for a personal invitation to the tournament, which Tsung just laughs at. To prove himself worthy, Tsung challenges Shu to a sparring match. Shujinko just narrowly wins against Tsung, but he could tell that the sorcerer was holding back. Tsung commends Shujinko on his skill and tells him he is cordially invited to compete in the tournament. Shujinko thanks Tsung, telling him that we will defeat the sorcerer and end his tyranny in Earthrealm. Tsung just snorts and replies "We'll see about that!"

Shujinko leaves the island and returns back to China. He decides to visit Damashi, after being gone for nearly 20 years, when he is attacked by a squad of bandits. Before Shujinko can engage them, a mysterious native appears. He tries to talk down the bandits, but fails. Afterwards, the native pulls out a green tomahawk and easily dispatches all the bandits. Shujinko thanks the man, who reveals himself to be Nightwolf. He's in China on a spiritual mission, noting that it seems Shu could use his help. Nightwolf can sense the evil and corruption in Shu's soul, reminding Shu of Ling's words when he first entered the Netherrealm. Nightwolf offers to cleanse Shu back in his homeland, but it will take many years. Though it will divert from the quest, Shujinko decides that this will be worth it and accepts Nightwolf's offer. He grabs onto Shu and the two disappear in a pillar of blue energy.

**FOR THE NEXT 11 YEARS, SHUJINKO LEARNS FROM THE SHAMAN, NIGHTWOLF. HE GAINS A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SPIRITUAL NATURE OF THE UNIVERSE, AND MANAGES TO SUPPRESS HIS INNER DARKNESS**

Nightwolf returns Shujinko back to China, telling him that his training and spiritual cleansing is complete. When asked what he will do now, Shujinko tells him that the Mortal Kombat Tournament is just a month away and he was personally invited to compete by Shang Tsung. Nightwolf warns Shu to be careful, as Tsung is well known for his treachery. He cannot compete due to obligations to his tribe. Shu thanks Nightwolf for everything, who says goodbye as he disappears in another pillar of energy.

Since the tournament is just a month way, Shujinko thinks he will spend some time reconnecting with everyone in his village. He makes his way to Damashi, whose gates are shut tight. Shujinko calls out to be let in, almost not getting recognized by the watchmen. Shu is let in and is greeted by the villagers. He asks where his old friend Wang is and he learns that he is the new martial arts instructor. Shujinko heads to the dojo where Wang is in the middle of teaching some students. As soon as Wang sees him, he drops everything to run over and hug Shujinko. They hadn't seen each other in 30 years, ever since that fateful day that Shujinko left with Bo' Rai Cho. Wang takes him back home and the two catch up on what's been happening to each other since they last saw one another. This is just a nice, sweet interlude for Shujinko after being on his quest for so long. The conversation eventually turns to Shujinko asking about his dad, as he hasn't seen him at all around the town. That's when Wang gets uncomfortable and silent, which makes Shujinko worried.

Cut to the graveyard, where Shu and Wang are walking. Wang points out a grave next to Ling's. It's the grave of Shujinko's father, now revealed to be named Zhao. He died in 1983 of a heart attack. Shujinko kneels by the grave and curses himself for not seeing his father again before his death. He promises that he will make him proud by winning the Mortal Kombat Tournament. Wang then takes Shujinko to his old home, which he has been taking care of in case Shu ever returned. Shujinko reminiscences, we have a few flashbacks of Shu, his father, and maybe Ling as well. Speaking of Ling, he suddenly reappears in front of the two. He sensed that something had changed about Shujinko and grew very concerned. Shujinko tells him about his cleansing with Nightwolf, which Ling says is a big problem. That corruption allowed Shu to access otherwise inaccessible realms. He must return to the Netherrealm and regain the corruption that he is suppressing. Shu, naturally, thinks this is a load of crap as he thought his grandfather would be happy for him. Ling just repeats himself, that he must go to Netherrealm. But Shu points out that will take a while and the tournament will happen soon, does he want him to just throw away something he has been dreaming about all his life? Ling raises his voice and reminds Shujinko that he has obligations with the Elder Gods and to follow his quest, no matter what. Shu appears exasperated and it looks like he will refuse...until he simply tells Ling that he will do as he says. Ling disappears and Wang asks Shu just what the hell was that. Shu gives him a brief spiel of what he has been doing for the last 30 years, which Wang is both impressed and taken aback by. He tells Shu that something is not right about Ling, he shouldn't trust him. Shu admits to feeling that Ling has been acting weird for many years, but maybe his grandfather is just stressed about the realms situation. Wang sighes and tells Shu to do what he must, but if Ling pushes him anymore, he should just finally tell him off. Shu agrees and he leaves Damashi to return to the Nexus portal.

As he is about to enter the portal back to the Nexus, a sudden lighting bolt sends Shujinko flying back. Raiden appears in his _MK1_ attire and, since this before that, this is pre-character development Raiden. He tells Shu to back off, that his portal is property of the gods and that he must secure it so that no one can misuse it. When Shu tells him that he is the Elder God Champion, Raiden scoffs and tells him that a mortal as pathetic as Shu could not possibly be the champion. Shujinko challenges Raiden to Mortal Kombat, who accepts. This time around, Shujinko actually loses to Raiden, who is prepared to strike him down for his arrogance. Ling appears and manages to somewhat convince Raiden that he is the champion. He decides to spare Shujinko and gives him exclusive use to the portal, but tells him that Ling wouldn't save him if the two fight again. He disappears in a bolt of lighting and Shu asks Ling if that was actually supposed to be our protector god. Ling confirms this as true, it's a long story for why Raiden acts the way he does nowadays. He reminds Shujinko to head through to the Netherrealm and ee will contact him later. Shu returns to the Nexus and enters the portal to the Netherrealm.

Shujinko begins wandering the Netherrealm, little by little regaining his corruption. Along the way, he runs into a spectre who nearly attacks him. He introduces himself as Scorpion and asks who Shu is. When Shujinko explains and mentions he was going to compete in Mortal Kombat, Scorpion becomes interested. He has received word that the man who murdered him, Sub-Zero, will be competing in the tournament to assassinate Shang Tsung. Shu asks about his death, but Scorpion mentions he remembers little of his time alive other than being killed by Sub-Zero. Feeling bad for the spectre, Shujinko offers to give Scorpion his invitation to the tournament in return for teaching him and helping him speed up getting the corruption he needs. Scorpion agrees and teaches Shujinko some of his moves and fighting styles. Afterwards, he thanks Shu for providing him with the invitation and then disappears in a burst of fire.

Shujinko continues through the depths of the Netherrealm until he feels that he has enough corruption to satisfy Ling. He is prepared to make his way back to the Nexus, when he is suddenly ambushed and captured by several hooded figures. When Shu awakes, he finds himself a massive throne room. A sorcerer appears before him, introducing himself as Quan Chi. Shujinko is shocked as he sees the fallen Elder God Shinnok on the throne, having thought he was being tortured by Lucifer as said in the old stories. Shinnok laughs and tells Shu that his history is seriously out of date. Quan Chi mentions that was the case, until Quan Chi helped him overthrow Lucifer over 500 years ago. But enough exposition, let's cut to the chase. They know that Shujinko has access to the Nexus, something Shinnok wants so that he can finally escape the confines of the Netherrealm. However, Shinnok cannot enter the portal no matter what they try. They believe Shujinko is the key to all this and ask him to help, but he naturally refuses. Shu challenges and defeats Quan Chi in kombat, then makes a break for it. Shinnok sends the Brotherhood of Shadow after him, but Shu easily either defeats or alludes them. He escapes Shinnok's fortress and Ling appears. He tells Shu that he has regained the necessary corruption, but Shu interrupt him to point out the whole Shinnok problem he is having right now. As more Brotherhood of Shadow appear out of the fortress, Ling decides to help and just easily blasts them away with red energy. He tells Shujinko to follow him and the two run away. Quan Chi and Shinnok are watching from above, the former questioning what exactly that energy being was. Shinnok knows what it is and calls Shujinko an idiot. Quan Chi asks Shinnok what he knows, but he dismisses it and leaves to Quan Chi's confusion.

Ling directs Shujinko back to the main Netherrealm area and Shu thanks him for the help. He tells Shu that he does not need to spend any longer in the Netherrealm and also he needed to tell him about something curious. A person emerged from the Outworld portal in the Nexus, asking for help from Shujinko. Apparently, he has become rather known for helping Lei Chen. Shujinko asks what they need help with, but Ling tells him to just head to the Nexus to find out for himself. He knows this will divert the quest, but Shujinko promises him it won't take long.

Returning to the Nexus, Shujinko meets Li Mei. She explains that her home village of Sun Do is being wrongly occupied by Baraka and his tarkatans soldiers. They are stealing their food and money, soon their village will be left without any supplies. She heard rumors of Shujinko and how helped Lei Chen, so he sought him out and is glad to finally find him. Shujinko decides to help Li Mei and the two head back to Outworld.

At the village, we see Shujinko and Li Mei spy on the tarkatans who are terrorizing some of the villagers. When Baraka is about to kill the lord of the village, Li Mei steps in and challenges him. Unfortunately, she loses to Baraka. He is about to kill her when Shujinko steps in and defeats Baraka. The tarkatans flee for now and Shujinko helps Li Mei up. He tells her that she is not ready for kombat, with Li Mei asking how will she be able to defend her village when she can't even defeat Baraka? Shu, seeing some of his younger self in Li Mei, offers to spend some time training her and the other warriors of the village. Li Mei thanks Shujinko and says she'll gather the others to begin the training.

After 6 months of teaching, Shujinko tells Li Mei that he cannot spend anymore time training them, he has his own things to do. He suggest Li Mei continue training alone and she thanks Shu for all his wisdom. Before he leaves, he asks Shujinko if could talk to Hotaru and convince him to help defend Sun Do from future attacks. Shu agrees, saying it will be nice to see him again after so long. He parts ways with Li Mei, with words of thanks from the villagers.

Shujinko makes his way to Lei Chen, which he notices is strangely empty. He sees Hotaru, all alone, in the center of the city. He walks over and greets him, saying that is has been so long. Hotaru then places him under arrest for failing to follow his ordinance, that everyone must go indoors when the bell rings. Shu tries to explain that he did not know of such a thing, but Hotaru says ignorance is not a valid excuse. Some Seiden guards arrive and escort Shujinko away.

**FOR THE NEXT 9 YEARS, SHUJINKO WAS IMPRISONED FOR HIS CRIMES. HE IS EVENTUALLY BROUGHT TO A HOLDING CELL IN SEIDO, PENDING TRIAL. THE DAY HAS NOW ARRIVED…**

Two Seiden guards enter and Shujinko, now an old man, asks why he has been brought here. The guardsmen tell Shu that we has been finally brought here to face his charges in front of the Judicial Court of Seido. Shujinko is sure that he won't be in jail any longer for something as petty as curfew, but the guards aren't so sure.

Not long after, one of the guards screams out in pain. Shujinko and the second guard turn, only to see that guard dead on the ground. Suddenly, a man appears from nowhere and snaps the neck of the second guard. Shujinko angrily asks who he is, and the man introduces himself as Dairou. A certain ally of Shujinko was worried about his current state, since he hasn't fulfilled certain...obligations. So, he hired Dairou to take care of Shu's obstacles and help free him. When asked, Dairou confirms that it was Ling who paid, not hired, him to help Shujinko. He can't believe that his grandfather would ask someone to commit murder to help him, since he was a kind monk who always spoke out against such actions. Dairou tells Shujinko that he was once Seiden guard, until an incident led to his imprisonment. He was freed by Darrius and became a mercenary. Shujinko should not put so much faith in the law here, he likely would have been imprisoned for 36-70 years just for breaking curfew. Before Dairou leaves, he gives Shujinko a key to the high courtroom that he stole off one of the guards. If he ever needs his services, he can find him roaming around Seido. Shu thanks him for his help, as Dairou quickly makes his exit.

Shujinko makes his way to the High Courtroom, which he finds very quiet and eerily empty. Above the judge's seat, he spots a strange artifact encased in glass. Sensing the energy within, he realizes that must be the Orderrealm Kamidogu! Before he can secure it, Hotaru shows up. He laments how Shujinko has diverted from the path of order. Over this last decade, Hotaru had time to think and was even planning on defending Shujinko at his trial. Instead, he comes to find two dead guards and Shujinko illegally entering the High Courtroom. Hotaru challenges Shujinko, who possibly mirrors Darrius's words from when he fought him years ago. Shu defeats him, of course, and smashes the glass protecting the Kamidogu. After retrieving it, he leaves the courtroom and encounters Ling once again. He's happy to see that Shujinko has finally found another Kamidogu, since it had been 21 years since he last got one. Shujinko brings up him hiring an assassin, not believing that him or the Elder Gods would condone such actions. Ling says not to question the methods of them, also pointing out that Shujinko has done many dishonorable things over his lifelong quest. Shu agrees that he has done some not so great things, some he looks back on with regret. However, he is also grown much wiser and kinder since his journey began. He just can't believe that Elder Gods wouldn't make an exception to such brutal ways, nor his own grandfather. Shu mentions how Ling always advocated for peace and non-violent solutions, yet he seems to have lost those beliefs upon becoming an emissary. Ling tells him that all the Elder Gods do is ensure the realms exist, judging life and interfering is the job of the lesser gods and their champions. He tells Shujinko to head to the Nexus, only one more realm awaits. Breathing a sigh of exasperation, Shu says he will do as his grandfather says. Shujinko returns to the Nexus and places the Order Kamidogu on the altar, entering the final realm of his journey.

Shujinko arrives in an unfamiliar city. Ling appears and explains this is the realm of Edenia. It was once merged with Outworld, but it was undone after his defeat years ago. He also warns Shujinko that he detects another force that is trying to claim the Kamidogu. At this point, Shu is full exasperated and lashes out at his grandfather. He has never told him the true significance and purpose of the Kamidogu, after 40 years of searching. Now, Shu finally demands answers from Ling. Feeling that Shujinko deserves at least this much, Ling decides to tell him the story of the Kamidogu.

Eons ago, the Elder Gods used the Kamidogu to split the consciousness of a creature, the One Being, into many realms. Essentially, they are responsible for everything in the universe. Before the realms, only the Elder Gods and One Being existed. The One Being feed of the Elder Gods for sustenance, this went on for countless eons. As you can imagine, the Elder Gods kinda thought this was terrible so they waged war with the One Being. Eventually, 6 Elder Gods came together, forged the Kamidogu, and used it to the splinter the One Being into the many realms. Shujinko is impressed by this tale, but wonders why they needed his help in the first place. This is when Ling reveals that an individual had been trying to get the Kamidogu, merge the realms all into one, and gain unstoppable power. That individual might actually be in Edenia, searching for the last Kamidogu as they speak. Shu thanks his grandfather for being straight with him, promising that he will not fail.

Approaching the square of the city, Shujinko is suddenly surrounded by Edenian guardsmen. He is brought to the Edenian Royal Castle, where he is brought forth to Queen Sindel and Princess Kitana. The latter recognizes Shujinko from their fight in Outworld, years ago. They brought him here because they witnessed Shu cross through the portal of the Gods. Shujinko explains he is in search of something called the Kamidogu, which he needs to help the Elder Gods save all of reality. Sindel shows Shu a strange relic, which Shu can sense is the Kamidogu. Kitana makes Shujinko an offer. They have been training to find and kill Shao Kahn, who had survived his defeat at the hands of Liu Kang. They had recently gotten word about his hideout and are planning an attack. If he helps them defeat Shao Kahn, they will reward Shujinko with the Kamidogu. Shu agrees and they introduce him to one of the generals. In walks Goro, much to Shujinko's shock. He notices the scar on Goro's chest and prepares to fight him. Goro talks him down, saying he has no desire for pointless squabbles anymore. Realizing that Shujinko doesn't understand why he's here, he explains everything that has happened to him since Shu last saw him. He offers his hand to Shujinko, who accepts it. Sindel says that together, Shao Kahn doesn't stand a chance against them.

Shujinko, Kitana, Goro, and their forces approach Shao Kahn's secret base. Shu asks if they are sure they can take on Kahn, having heard stories about how powerful he is. Kitana tells him that Shao Kahn had been considerably weakened after his two losses to Earthrealm, that he shouldn't give them that much trouble now. Kahn's forces spot them and a large battle breaks out. Shujinko and Goro make their way to Shao Kahn, only to be blocked by Noob Saibot and Kano. Goro fights Noob, while Shujinko fights Kano. Kitana eventually shows up to help, only for her and Shu to witness Noob strike down Goro and send him flying off a cliff. Enraged, the two fight and curb-stomp Noob Saibot and Kano who flee to warn Shao Kahn about the two.

Shujinko enters the base, eventually reaching Shao Kahn. Kahn mentions he's heard rumors about Shujinko and that he's a very powerful warrior. He riles Shu, who declares that he may not have gotten to fight Shang Tsung, but he will not pass up the opportunity to end Shao Kahn's tyranny! Shujinko narrowly defeats Shao Kahn in an epic clash. Before Kitana can finish him, Noob and Kano appear. The latter tosses down a smoke bomb and the three escape. Kahn's forces retreat and the battle is over. Kitana is upset that Shao Kahn has once again escaped their grasp, but Shujinko assures her that they will get another chance in the future.

Back it the Castle, a funeral service is held for the fallen Goro. His body was never found, so Kitana holds out hope that he may still be alive. Though they weren't successful in killing Shao Kahn, Sindel and Kitana decides to reward the Kamidogu to Shujinko for his services. They tell him he is always welcome in Edenia. Shujinko thanks them for everything and leaves.

Ling appears and seems super happy that Shujinko has finally collected the Kamidogu. Now, he will be able to return to the physical world. He will be reborn in physical form in Outworld. Shujinko thinks this is great news and can't wait to bring this quest to an end. Ling tells him to hurry to the Nexus and place the Kamidogu where it belongs. After Ling disappears, Shujinko has a sudden realization. Why would his grandfather come back….in Outworld? He'll have to ask Ling this when he returns to the Nexus.

Shujinko spends his sweet time returning to the Nexus, despite Ling's words. He tours Edenia for a bit, feeling there is no rush since his quest is practically over. After a while, he returns to the portal and the altar. Shujinko can't believe that after 40 years of trials and tribulations, that his journey is coming to a close. However, before he can place the last Kamidogu on the altar, he is stopped by Scorpion. The spectre claims that he will meddle with the affairs of the Elder Gods no longer and challenges him to Mortal Kombat. Shujinko is confused, asking what Scorpion has been doing for the last decade. Scorpion ignores him and fights. This would be Scorpion, powered up the Elder Gods, and be the final boss of Konquest mode. Shujinko defeats Scorpion, who tries to warn Shu to NOT place the Kamidogu on the altar. He ignores Scorpion and places the last Kamidogu on the altar.

Nothing happens, much to Shujinko's shock. They should have been transported to the Elder Gods. That's when a large dragon person shows up and tells Shujinko that it's because he hasn't completed his quest. Shu, terrified, asks who he is. The man laughs and asks if this will make him realize who he is. He summons Ling, much to Shujinko's horror who demand he let him go. The man bursts into laughter and calls Shujinko a fool. The red energy thing that was following him wasn't his grandfather, it was him! Onaga, the Dragon King! This was actually just a projection of his consciousness, which he used to manipulate Shujinko. Ling wasn't on to anything, he arranged his priest followers to kill Ling so that he could use his image to convince Shunjinko to do his bidding!. Thanks to Shujinko, he now has the means to achieve complete mastery over reality. Shu finally realizes this was what the Oracle was warning him about, the deception that will lead to armageddon.

Onaga then reveals that the Kamidogu would have been transported to the Elder Gods, but he is missing one last piece. That thing is currently in possession of a sorcerer in Outworld, but he will deal with him later. All of a sudden, some warriors emerge from the Outworld portal. Onaga reveals them to be some followers, worshippers, that helped with his resurrection. They will aid him in conquering all of reality.

Enraged at the deception and of using his grandfather against him, Shujinko challenges Onaga to Mortal Kombat. The Dragon King accepts and easily curb-stomps Shujinko. As he sends Shu flying, the bronze medallion that his grandfather gave him falls to the ground. Onaga steps on it and grinds the medallion to pieces and dust. He orders his warriors to bind Shujinko, saying his reward will be to rot in a cell for all eternity. Onaga laughs as him and his warriors cross through the portal to Outworld, his laugh echoing throughout the Nexus. Smash cut to black and the credits roll.

After the credits, we get one last scene. It's the climax of the WP on _Deadly Alliance_, everything the same up until the post credits scene described in that one. This time, it continues on and reveals that the big hulking figure was Onaga himself. Quan Chi cursed, realizing that Onaga being alive again is kinda bad thing. He tries to use his sorcery against the Dragon King, but it doesn't seem to work. Shang Tsung quickly runs up to help Quan Chi, but even their combined might doesn't seem to faze Onaga. Raiden finally joins in and while his power helps stun Onaga at first, the Dragon King ultimately shrugs it off and continues his advance towards the three. In one last act of desperation, Raiden uses a massive kamikaze attack that destroys the entire palace, killing Shang Tsung and Quan Chi in the process.

The smoke clears, the surrounding area is in ruins from Raiden's explosion. Onaga survived with little damage and he now has Shinnok's Amulet, the final thing he needs to achieve ultimate power. Onaga takes control of his undead army, revives Kung Lao, Kai, Liu Chow, Johnny Cage, Jax, Sonya, Kotal Kahn, Stryker, and Kitana. He places them under mind control, further strengthening his already powerful has the Kamidogu, the amulet, the undeady army, and the heroes under his control. Can anyone defeat this threat, born of deception?

We pan out of the wreckage of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi's palace. A familiar looking spirit is seen emerging from the debris. He says that with everyone else gone or under Onaga's control, he might be the only one who can stand up to the Dragon King. But first, he must seek out help…

And that's the end of Konquest Mode for _Deception_, obviously the story would continue in Arcade Mode like in the actual game. There is still one more part for _Deception_, which will cover the resolution of the story and any changed sub-plots. If there is any in particular you want me to cover, either because you definitely think it can be improved or that certain elements would conflict with my established canon, let me know.

Looking at the Konquest cutscenes for this Wasted Plotential, I noticed that the mode's execution...could have been a lot better to say the least. It still looks like just a simple, fun thing to play through but an adventure game set in the Mortal Kombat world could have been done so much better. I also had to do quite a few character rewrites and omissions, due to the timeline in Konquest Mode being pretty screwed up. This might have to do with what the4thsnake said, that the plot originally involved time travel. It was cut, but it seems like they didn't fix any of the issues that resulted from that.

Since we are not quite done with _Deception _yet, I must of course say…

**TO BE CONCLUDED IN PART III**


	12. Wasted Plotential: Deception (Part 3)

Reminder, this part will contain the post-Konquest mode story and any altered sub-plots. I highly recommend that you read the first two parts of _Deception _as well as _Deadly Alliance_ before continuing on. As mentioned in Part One, any sub-plots or plot points not mentioned in my version of _Deception_ can be assumed to happen as they did in the actual canon. With that out of the way, let's finally finish _Mortal Kombat: Deception_!

We begin with Sub-Zero, who has discovered the ruins of an old Outworld civilization during his quest to lay Frost to rest. Through examining the books and runes of the ruins, he learns about the race of Cryomancers. Sub-Zero realizes that him and Frost are descended from this race, which turns his attention back to her. He buries Frost and says some kind words in her memory. Finding an old suit of Cyromancer armor, Sub-Zero puts it on and finds his powers increased even further. He attempts to regroup with his allies, only to be attacked by a group of tarkatans led by Hotaru! The guardsman informs Sub-Zero that he is too late, all his friends are dead. Not only that, but the Dragon King Onaga demands his death. Sub-Zero manages to escape Hotaru and the tarkatans, fleeing into the wastelands of Outworld. While on the run, Sub-Zero trips over something in his rush. He soon discovers it to a mysterious warrior, who weakly introduces himself as Kenshi to him. Liang grabs Kenshi and manages to lose Hotaru's forces in the Living Forest. He finds a quiet clearing and helps nurse Kenshi back to full health. Sub-Zero fills him in on the story regarding the Deadly Alliance and the two agree that they need to head back to Earth to regain their strengths and allies. They team up and eventually locate a portal back to Earthrealm.

Back at the Wu Shi Academy, Kung Jin is training himself and is considering applying to the White Lotus Society. He's still upset that Kung Lao refused to let him take part in the battle against the Deadly Alliance, hoping that everything went well. Suddenly, Kung Zhang runs up to Jin. He takes him to Liu Kang's grave...or where it once was. Not only has a massive hole been dug up, but Liu Kang's corpse is missing. Shortly after, Fujin, Li Mei, and Bo' Rai Cho show up to inform Kung Jin of some rather bad news.

In Outworld, we find Ermac fighting some bandits in a small village. He defeats them quite easily and the villagers praise them for his help. After receiving a small reward, Ermac leaves the village. In the brief time following Kenshi restoring his free will in _Deadly Alliance_, Ermac has decided to spend his life atoning for his past evil. As he comments on how he can cleanse his soul, a familiar voice calls out to him and says that there is something he can do.

It's revealed that it is none other then the spirit of Liu Kang. He explains to Ermac that Shang Tsung took his soul after he was murdered and he witnessed the assault on the Deadly Alliance, which Ermac had heard about. Raiden exploded to try and kill Onaga, but he only succeeded in killing himself, Shang Tsung, and Quan Chi. This freed his soul and rather then passing on, Liu Kang decided to stay behind. He knows that whatever threat this Onaga is, it must be absolutely horrible if Raiden was willing to do a suicide attack. But he cannot do this alone, especially since he's, you know, dead. Ermac agrees to help, to make amends with Liu Kang and the heroes for his actions in _MK3_. When asked what they should do first, Kang says they must head to Earthrealm. There were some warriors who are still alive, as they did not take part in the assault against the Deadly Alliance. They will recruit them, then head to Edenia to recruit Sindel and Jade into their cause. Ermac is alerted by the mention of Sindel's name, though he refrains from saying anything. The two shake hands and Ermac leads Liu Kang to a hidden portal that can take them back to Earthrealm.

Returning to Earthrealm, Liu Kang and Ermac make their way back to the Wu Shi Academy. As Kang looks around, he ends up coming across the very spot where he was killed by the Deadly Alliance. He sits there and meditates, while Ermac is off doing what Kang told him to do.

In the master chambers, Fujin informs Kung Jin of everything that happened. Him and Bo' Rai Cho went to save Li Mei and then brought her to safety. They then tried to return to aid the others, only to find the palace completely destroyed. He asks what happened to Kung Lao, but Cho says they aren't exactly sure what went down, but they believe him and all the other warriors are dead. Ermac suddenly bursts into the chambers and the others, still believing Ermac is a villain, attack. He manages to hold them off rather well, eventually quelling them once he brings up Liu Kang.

They bring them to Kang and they are surprised to see his spirit. Liu Kang, Bo' Rai Cho, and Kung Jin all have a very touching reunion. Cho profusely apologizes for not being there to save him from the Deadly Alliance, but Kang says not to worry about it and it is in the past. Jin asks Kang if he knows how their fight against the Deadly Alliance went. He says he does, he witnessed everything through the eyes of Shang Tsung. Cousin Kung Lao fought admirably against Tsung, showing him absolutely no mercy. He would have won if, Liu Kang stumbling on his words here, Quan Chi hadn't killed Kitana. This allowed him to stop Kung Lao from finishing Tsung and he soon was overwhelmed by the two sorcerers. Jin asks how Kang is even here and he tells them about Raiden's suicide attack. This attack killed Shang Tsung and released all the souls he had collected, including the Great Kung Lao. While the other souls ascended, Liu Kang stayed behind. He informs them of Onaga and that they are in great danger if he is not stopped. Fujin and Kung Jin will go and recruit the remaining Earthrealm warriors to their cause. As they are discussing this, Kung Zhang runs in and hands Fujin a scroll. Apparently, the Northern and Eastern Shaolin Temples have been massacred. Liu Kang and Kung Jin are horrified and asked who could have done such a thing. Fujin tells Kang that it was….you.

We cut to the Western Shaolin Temples, where a monk is running in terror. He makes his way past other dead monks and to the front gaters, which he tries to open in vain. Suddenly, a chain appears out of nowhere and grabs the monk by the wrist, dragging him to the ground. It's revealed the figure doing this is the undead body of Liu Kang.

Back at the Wu Shi Academy, Liu Kang wonders how his body could possibly be running around like this. Fujin doesn't know, but they cannot focus on it now as Onaga is their primary threat. Kang says that although he isn't technically responsible, he still wouldn't feel right letting his zombie corpse running around killing people. Bo' Rai Cho agrees and he suggests they split up. Kung Jin, Ermac, and Liu Kang will go find this undead Kang while Fujin, Cho, and Li Mei will go gather whatever forces they have left. Kang agrees to this and the two groups part ways. Before Kang leaves, he has a few kind words with his grandfather. Zhang laments that they would never be in this situation if he hadn't let his grandson compete in the Mortal Kombat Tournament. Liu Kang tells him that if he hadn't competed, things might have been even worse. He promises his grandfather that once Onaga is finished, that they will finally live in peace. Zhang isn't so sure about that, but Kang and Jin promise him that it will happen. Fujin says they will meet up at Raiden's Sky Temple once their objectives are complete.

Fujin's group arrive in New York City, the Wind God sensing that some warriors here. This leads them to coming across a construction crew, clearing the wreckage from the IIA's destruction in _Deadly Alliance_. Suddenly, a voice calls out to Fujin. It's revealed to be Sub-Zero, alongside Cyrax and Kenshi. Fujin asks what happened to the three of them, with Cyrax relaying his sub-plot with Niatra from _Deadly Alliance_. He wonders what happened to the IIA's base, with Sub-Zero telling him and Kenshi that it was destroyed by the traitor Hsu Hao. Jax had told the others about him during their training to take on the Deadly Alliance, during which Jax would encounter Hsu Hao and kill him by ripping his cybernetic heart out. After being informed about the threat of Onaga, the three agree to join them in their quest to stop the Dragon King. When asked if there is anyone else they think they can recruit, Cyrax brings up Kabal. Before all this happened, he recalled hearing a report of Kabal being spotted at the old warehouse district. Fujin, Cyrax, and Sub-Zero agree to go check things out while the others head back to the Sky Temple.

They make their way to the warehouse district and try to find where Kabal is. Cyrax spies him, Kobra, and Kira heading inside a warehouse with some Black Dragon goons. They sneak inside and take cover behind some crates, watching what he's doing. Fujin remembers Raiden telling him Kabal was vigilante who fought against injustice. He wonders what exactly he is doing, since he seemed be walking alongside the Black Dragon. They watch and we hear Kabal give a rousing speech, about how his Black Dragon will be even greater then the one Kano led. They will become a force of anarchy and decay, isn't that right, Havik? He applauds Kabal for his speech, which causes Fujin to jump out and reveal himself. This leads to a battle, with Cyrax fighting the goons, Sub-Zero fights Kira and Kobra, while Fujin confronts Havik and Kabal. He demands answers and Kabal decides to entertain him. A year ago, Kabal was fighting some Red Dragon goons in Tallahassee when he was confronted by Mavado. Despite his skills, Mavado defeated him, took his swords, and left him for dead. Havik chimes in, saying he entered Earthrealm through the Nexus and sensed the chaos of the Red Dragon. This led to him finding Kabal and he took him back to Chaosrealm and healed him back to health. He told Kabal that he should reform the Black Dragon and turn into a force of chaos, which Kabal agreed to do. Fujin accuses Havik of corrupting Kabal with chaos, but Havik just says he liberated Kabal. Fujin fights Havik, then Kabal, defeating them both. He wants to undo Havik's corruption, but Kobra tosses a stun grenade and blinds the heroes. They use one of the interrealm portals that they had stolen before the IIA's destruction to escape to Chaosrealm. Cyrax and Sub-Zero want to chase after them, but Fujin says to let them go. Let's return to the Sky Temple, they'll deal with Kabal and Havik later.

Liu Kang, Ermac, and Kung Jin arrive at the Western Temples. While traveling, they heard rumors that Kang's corpse was seen heading towards there. Entering the temples, they find the massacred monks. Kang grows sad and angry, this reminds him of the attack on their temple back in _MK2_. Suddenly, Zombie Kang gets the drop on them and knocks out Ermac. Liu Kang tells Jin that it is up to him, his ability to fight is limited as a spirit. Kung Jin is happy, he can finally show Liu Kang the skills he has built up all these years. Him and the Zombie Kang fight, Jin just narrowly defeating it. Jin and Kang are surprised with how much of his skill the zombie retained, making them further wandering who did this. They help Ermac up, when suddenly Zombie Kang rises up again. Jin says they have nothing to fear….only for Zombie Kang to activate his Firebrand powers, then easily blast Ermac and Jin away. With no other option, Kang fights his zombie body. It ends in a stalemate and Kang wonders what exactly can they do with the zombie, afraid they might have to destroy his own body.

Suddenly, a voice rises up and tells Kang that he might be of assistance. Kang and the zombie turn, the former being glad to see it is none other than Nightwolf. With his spiritual powers, Nightwolf is able to render the zombie docile for now. Kang tries to explain their plight, but Nightwolf is already aware of what is going on. He has been receiving visions of the Dragon King for several months. Once he saw that Reptile has been used as a vessel for Onaga, he knew he could no longer stand by. He has been making his own preparations to deal with Onaga, which he cannot tell Kang for now. When asked if Nightwolf can do anything to reunite his spirit and body, he says he can but it will take a bit to work out. Nightwolf helps heal Jin and Ermac's injuries, then teleports the group to the Sky Temple.

At the Temple, the groups reunite with their new allies and the docile zombie Kang. Fujin says the next move is to go to Edenia and request the help of Sindel and Jade. Liu Kang decides to go, wanting to see them personally. With him goes Ermac, Kung Jin, and Sub-Zero. The others stay behind to train and rest, while Nightwolf decides to see what he can do about spirit and zombie Kang.

They travel to Edenia and note that things seem to be different in the capital city. The citizens mention how Princess Kitana has been doing exceptionally well as ruler, in the absence of Queen Sindel. Kung Jin catches one of the civilians and asks what's up, Kitana died at the hands of Quan Chi. The person responds incredulously, saying that Kitana returned to Edenia after barely surviving against the sorcerer. Liu Kang asks where Sindel and Jade are, only for the person to reply they went missing shortly after Kitana's return. Ermac spots some Edenian soldiers marching out of the city, the person replying they are on their way to quell some Shao Kahn remnants in the eastern mountains. The heroes all point out that obviously these people are being tricked and decide to head to the Royal Castle to get some answers.

The group sneaks up to the castle gates and are shocked to see Baraka walk in the castle. They walk up to the gates, which Ermac blasts apart. Some Edenian guards try to stop them, but they are easily repelled by the heroes. They make to the throne room where, sure enough, Kitana is sitting on the throne. She is surrounded by guards, as well as Tanya and Baraka. Kang tries to convince the guards this is not the real Kitana, but he is unsuccessful. Tanya asks why they should believe a dead man, while Sub-Zero points how she betrayed Edenia to Shinnok years ago. "Kitana" tells them that Tanya has been rehabilitated and is now loyal to Edenia. Kang doesn't buy it at all saying to the guards that they are deceiving them. One of the guards ask for proof, which Jin says he can provide. Kung Jin walks up to Kitana, who asks what proof he has. Jin says, "This!", and rips off Kitana's veil. It reveals sharp, tarkatan teeth. She hastily places the veil back on as Kang says they were not following Kitana, but Mileena! He asks how Jin knew so quickly. He says he didn't, he was just acting on a hunch.

Angrily, Mileena calls her forces to attack. Tarkatan soldiers storm the room while Mileena and Baraka jump the heroes. Her and Tanya fight Kang and Jin, Baraka and the tarkatans fight Sub-Zero and Ermac. Kang points out that her and Tanya were imprisoned after the battle against Shinnok, years ago. Mileena angrily rants about how her own sister left her to rot in a dark dungeon. She remained trapped until Baraka freed the two. He had started working for Onaga, who had recently reclaimed the throne of Outworld. Thanks to him, she was finally able to fulfill her purpose of impersonating her sister. She was ordered to mislead the Edenian forces while Onaga gathered his strength. Kang calls her mad, which she readily admits. Jin asks where Sindel and Jade are, Tanya saying that Onaga helped them imprison Sindel in the palace dungeon that they were trapped in themselves. Kang and Jin manage to defeat the two and decide to go looking for Sindel.

Meanwhile, in a deep and dark part of the castle, we see Sindel trapped in a cold and desolate cell. We hear a voice call to her, which turns out to be none other then the resurrected and brainwashed Kitana. She mocks her mother, who has shown absolutely no desire to escape. Suddenly, Kitana hears a noise and someone comes down the stairs. It turns out to be Jade, who took out Onaga's guards upstairs. Jade tells Kitana that she doesn't want to fight her, but if she must save her queen. The two battle, Jade emerging the victor. She gets the key off Kitana and frees Sindel. She then slaps Sindel to the ground, angrily asking why she didn't bother to escape her cell. Sindel tells her that doing so would mean possibly hurting her daughter, but Jade points out that right now that ISN'T the daughter she knows. They need to leave the capital to strengthen up and gain allies to take back their realm. Sindel is aghast, not wanting to abandon her realm yet again. Jade gives Sindel some tough love and the two make their escape. Shortly afterwards, Kang and Jin arrive. They heard she was imprisoned here, only to find the cell empty. Realizing she must have already escaped, Kang tells Jin they have to go back and help the others, feeling they'll cross paths with Sindel in the future. They suddenly notice Kitana on the ground, who regains consciousness. Before Kang can do anything, she runs out of the room and up the stairs.

They arrive back in the throne room, only to find the heroes and Edenian guardsmen. When asked what happened, Ermac tells the two that after Baraka was dispatched with, Mileena and Tanya regained composure, opened a portal, and escaped, likely back to Outworld. Kang tells them about Sindel's escape and that it looks like their venture to Edenia was a bust. The group make their way back to Earthrealm.

At the Sky Temple, the heroes are sparring while Nightwolf is doing some sort of magic on Liu Kang's body. Kang and his group returns, when suddenly Kang begins phasing in and out of reality. Noticing this, Nightwolf extends one hand towards Kang and another back at his body. He chants some words, green energy channels between the three. After a brief moment, everyone is blinded by a flash of green light. It clears and Liu Kang's spirit is nowhere to be seen. Fujin asks what Nightwolf did to him and he points to the zombie. It gets up and begins talking in Liu Kang's voice, much to his own shock. Nightwolf says that while he can't resurrect Kang, he can at least bind his soul to his zombie body and give him control of it. He can temporarily leave his body, but he warns that Kang not do it for more than a couple minutes. The reason Kang was phasing in and out was because that spirits can only remain in the world of the living for so long. If Kang leaves his body for too long or it is destroyed, then he will be forced to pass on. Liu Kang thanks Nightwolf for his magic and wonders if they could find a way to bring him back. Fujin says the only one who can fully resurrect Liu Kang, that's on their side, is an Elder God. Once the threat against Onaga is dealt with, they'll see about bringing back Kang properly.

Suddenly, the doors to the temple thrust open and in walks Scorpion. The others are surprised to see him, they heard he was destroyed by Quan Chi and Shang Tsung's soulnado. He was rescued by the Elder Gods, who made them their Champion. If they followed their orders, they would resurrect his clan and family. He tried to stop a man named Shujinko, who was deceived into helping Onaga, but failed. Sometime later, he traveled back to Earth as he knew that whatever was left of the Forces of Light would gather here to try and form a plan against Onaga. Kang asks what he knows and he tells them that after Onaga captured Shujinko, he first followed them back to Outworld. Onaga has used his sorcery to rebuild his palace from ages past and imprisoned Shujinko in the deepest dungeon of the palace. It was here that Scorpion learned of Onaga's plan. The six Kamidogu are powerful, but the power can only be used by one individual each. Thus, Onaga plans to combine them all into the One Kamidogu. If he is successful, he will create the ultimate weapon and truly become unstoppable. Kang thanks Scorpion for the knowledge and asks for his assistance, which the spectre grants. Nightwolf brings up how he can dispatch Onaga, by using an ancient technique called "Sin Eater" to trap Onaga in the Netherrealm forever.

Thus we have our group of heroes. Zombie Liu Kang, Kung Jin, Fujin, Bo' Rai Cho, Li Mei, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Cyrax, Kenshi, and Nightwolf. They locate a portal to Outworld and begin making their way towards Onaga's Palace.

At Onaga's Palace, we see Onaga working on merging the Kamidogu with some shadow priests. In walks Mileena, Baraka, Hotaru, and the brainwashed heroes. Mileena informs him of the impending attack by the Forces of Light, which Onaga scoffs at. He just tells them to fortify the palace, tooth to nail and to deal with them when they come. When asked if they should use the undead army, Onaga arrogantly says he won't waste his forces on the likes of them. Mileena and others say they'll do as he says and leave.

The heroes approach the outskirts of the palace. Scorpion and Sub-Zero return from scouting, telling them they spotted an entrance on the other side that's relatively unguarded. They are distracted when Kung Jin exclaims that he sees to figures in the far distance and hands Kang the binoculars. He sees who the two figures are; Sindel and Jade. They are sneaking to the back and Kang orders everyone to move out.

Sindel and Jade meanwhile have made it to the back entrance, quickly killing the two guards there. They sneak in and soon find themselves in the dungeons of the Palace, trying to locate Kitana. Suddenly, Mileena and Tanya ambush the two and they fight. Sindel defeats Mileena and runs over to help Jade fight Tanya. Unbeknownst to Sindel, Mileena was merely feigning defeat to lower Sindel's guard. She is about to do a jumping stab into Sindel's back, when Liu Kang suddenly Flying Kicks her in the face. The other heroes show up, which makes Tanya realize just how outnumbered they are. Her and Mileena run off, shouting to sound the alarm. Sindel is surprised to see Liu Kang, but he tells them it is a long story. Scorpion breaks up this little reunion to mention they should be heading off to Onaga right about now. Kang says not yet, they are going to free Shujinko. The spectre disagrees with this, since Shujinko is responsible for this whole mess. The monk points out that Scorpion had said he had said Shujinko was deceived, which spectre counters by calling Shujinko an idiot who will believe anyone. Fujin and Jin interject, saying they can't just leave him to rot. Scorpion relents and he leads them where he believes Shujinko is being held.

We find ourselves in room with an ornate cell, where Shujinko is being held. All he can think about is how he deserves this punishment for his naivety. That's when the heroes so up, much to his surprise. He recognizes some of them, Bo' Rai Cho in particular is so happy to see him again. Jin shoots off the lock with his bow and opens the door. Kang and Cho remove Shujinko's chains and he slumps to the floor. He thanks them for the rescue, but says they shouldn't have. Everything is his fault, Onaga is going to conquer all the realms. Liu Kang says it is not his fault, he was being mislead by the Dragon King. Shujinko thanks Kang for trying to cheer him up, but it's not going to work. He then tells the entire tale of his adventures in Konquest mode to the heroes.

Afterwards, Liu Kang commends Shujinko on his accomplishments and tries to convince him to help, but Shujinko is disillusioned. Jin, having enough of Shujinko's whining, decides he'll settle this. He walks up and whacks Shu in the face with his bow. Jin tells Shujinko that yes, he did screw up big time. Suck it up. He may have messed up, but that doesn't mean he can't fix it. They still have time to stop Onaga and they could use his vast fighting skill, with that they might be able to defeat them! Now, stop wallowing in self-loathing, grow a pair, get up, and help squash this stupid Dragon King. These words seem to shake Shujinko out of his funk. Regaining his composure, he says that he is the only one who can take down Onaga. Kang tells him he's crazy if he thinks he can take down the Dragon King alone and that they will be there to help. The two warriors shake hands triumphantly.

Higher up in the palace, we see a large room filled with guards and a giant door. Said door suddenly is blown to pieces as in walks the Forces of Light, led by Liu Kang and Shujinko. With the two leading the heroes, they easily repel Onaga's guards and we get a cool little montage of them storming the palace and making it further and further to where Onaga is.

Eventually, they end up in foyer-like room. As they debate which way to go next, the heroes are attacked by Mileena, Tanya, Baraka, and some shadow priests. The power of the three, combined with the powerful dark magic of the priests give the heroes some trouble. Seeing this, Liu Kang goes into Firebrand state and easily defeats the lot. Before they can continue on, one of the shadow priest calls out that Liu Kang is "The Chosen One." Curious, Shujinko grabs the priest and asks what exactly he means by that.

The priest leads the heroes to Onaga's library, where he grabs an old scroll and shows them some paintings. This art is of the Firebrands and their civilization. Kang asks why they are showing them all this and the priest decides to explain with a story.

Long ago, there was a realm called Kasai. It was this realm where the Firebrands hailed from. They were artisans who had mastered the art of fire. They had a rich civilization, lucious lands, and great warriors. For many eons, the realm enjoyed a state of peace and prosperity.

This was until Onaga invaded the realm. Despite their power, they ultimately ended up overwhelmed by the Dragon King's onslaught. Kasai was merged with Outworld and the Firebrands were forced into slavery.

Many years later, Onaga would be informed by an Oracle that a terrible fate was waiting for him. She said; "The power of a Firebrand will bring about your end." Then the Oracle disappeared with a laugh. The Dragon King was not about to let this happen and ordered a genocide campaign against the Firebrands. Almost all of them were killed by Onaga's forces, but some managed to escape death by fleeing to other realms. Liu Kang is descended from one of these Firebrands, explaining his mastery of fire. The reason Kung Lao and Kung Jin don't have this power is likely because it comes from the Liu side of Kang's bloodline. When asked why the priest is helping them, he tells them that the priests had no choice in working for Onaga. It was either him or death. Kang says to Shujinko that it looks he won't be fighting Onaga alone after all, the latter asking Kang if he's thinking what he's thinking. Liu Kang nods in agreement, making the others wonder what they could be talking about. As they leave, we hear the priest mention there is still another stage of Firebrand that Kang has yet to find...

The heroes continue through the palace, making their way to the room before Onaga. Shujinko and Kang are prepared to open the door to Onaga's chambers when the brainwashed heroes appear. This lead to a massive battle between the heroes and the brainwashed heroes, all who have strange, soulless eyes. Kung Jin fights Kung Lao, Sindel and Jade fight Kitana, specifically. Jin doesn't want to fight his cousin, who just keeps attacking. Sindel and Jade try to get through to Kitana during their fight, but are unsuccessful. Ermac helps restrain the other brainwashed heroes, which leads to Liu Kang enacting his plan. He leaves his body temporarily and begins using his spirit power on them. After using the power on each one, they immediately collapse on the ground.

Kung Lao defeats Kung Jin, and goes to kill him with his hat. Jin tries desperately to get through to Kung Lao, bringing up Master Wu, the Great Kung Lao, and Chen Ying. The last one causes Lao to pause and repeat her name. Kung Jin points how much he loved her, then bringing up the death of Liu Kang. Suddenly, Kung Lao gets a flash of memories before screaming and falling to his knees. Jin kneels before him and notices that Lao's eyes have returned to normal. Lao is breathing heavily, then suddenly says Jin's name. He then quickly hugs Jin, saying it is so good to see him again. The last thing Kung Lao remembers was Shang Tsung killing him while in the form of Liu Kang. The two just hug and cry, so happy to be reunited.

A similar situation arises with Sindel, Jade, and Kitana. Sindel tries reminiding Kitana of certain memories like Kung Jin, but she seems to be having a more difficult time. When it seems nothing will work, Sindel grabs Kitana and points her towards Liu Kang. Kitana actually seems stunned to see him and she drops her guard. Sindel uses this opportunity to remind her of Kitana's more notable memories, discovering the truth of Mileena, freeing Sindel, and the murder of her father, King Jerrod. This sends Kitana into pain and she collapses, much like Kung Lao did. Ermac, having overheard all this, also begins to wince in pain. Suddenly, a voice emerges from Ermac and declares that enough is enough. Thousands of voices suddenly scream from Ermac's being and he passes out onto the ground.

Fade to black and we see someone's eyes open. It's Kitana, the first thing she sees is her mother and Jade. Sindel hugs Kitana, saying she's finally made up for abandoning her to Shao Kahn. The two hug for a while, before Jade points out Liu Kang.

Liu Kang has a touching reunion with Kung Lao and Liu Chow, having thought they lost him forever. Kitana walks up and the two embrace, which grosses out some since Kang is a zombie. Kang says to her that it looks like he should have accepted her offer after all. Kitana says, yeah he probably should have. He promises Kitana that once they defeat Onaga and he gets restored to life, he will finally take Kitana up on that offer. That's when we get a view of the other brainwashed heroes, also restored. Kotal walks up to Kitana, who he is happy to see. He seems awkward, which he makes him mention how Tsung killed him using her image. Now that he is back, he intends on taking the throne of Outworld back as soon as they kill Onaga. That makes Kitana ask Kang, who exactly is Onaga. Kang tells Kitana and the other restored heroes everything that has happened since their deaths, and they ask how they can help defeat Onaga. Shujinko tells them there is something.

We cut to Onaga, who is still working on merging the Kamidogu with the shadow priest. Suddenly, the doors to his chambers open. Onaga turns and bursts into hysterics when he sees Zombie Liu Kang walk inside. He can't believe the big hero that will stop him is a rotting, undead corpse. The shadow priests surround Kang as Onaga order them to finish the zombie. They close in and seem to be beating him up, only for them to be sent flying as Liu Kang activates Firebrand state. Onaga actually loses his cool upon seeing this, recalling the Oracle's words. He challenges Liu Kang to Mortal Kombat, which he accepts. The two fight for over an hour, with neither warrior close to falling. Suddenly, Kang stops fighting and returns to normal. Onaga chuckles and asks if the Firebrand wishes to surrender. Kang says no, it's just his distraction is no longer necessary. This causes Onaga to gasp and suddenly the other heroes walk in. While Liu Kang distracted Onaga, the heroes began working on channeling all their power into Shujinko. Shu confronts Onaga, who says the power that he gave him will be his downfall. The two fight, which can be heard all throughout the palace.

This eventually leads to the rest of the _Deception_ cast arriving in the chambers. Some of the evil ones try to stop the heroes, but some of them realize that they are outnumbered and that fighting them would be a losing battle. Some more willingly, others reluctantly, also lend their power to Shujinko. Using this power, Shu shatters the Kamidogu which weakens Onaga. This enrages the Onaga, who suddenly starts glowing with a red aura. Shujinko will now face the true, full power of the Dragon King!

Even with the combined power, Shujinko starts losing his edge against full power Onaga. That's when Shujinko shouts, "Now!" to Liu Kang, who powers up back into Firebrand state. He channels that energy into Shujinko, giving him Firebrand state as well. This new energy gives Shujinko the power he needs to finally defeat Onaga, once and for all. Shujinko jumps and slams into Onaga with a super-powered punch, like in his _Deception_ ending. The Dragon King falls to the ground, unconscious. Kang tells Nightwolf to strike now, and he uses his spiritual "Sin Eater" power to expel Onaga's soul and banish him to the Netherrealm. His body is covered in a bright, red light. After it clears, all that is left is seemingly lifeless body of Reptile.

Onaga's undead army collapse, returning to their state before Shang Tsung and Quan Chi resurrected them. Kung Lao can't believe they did it. After being nearly wiped out by the Deadly Alliance, the Forces of Light came back and won this time. The realms are save from Onaga's tyranny, forever! The heroes celebrate as Liu Kang walks over and congratulates Shujinko for defeating Onaga. Shu says he should be the one giving thanks, since he wouldn't have been able to accomplish this without Liu Kang's power. Kang concedes that point and asks if Shujinko has made amends for his past actions. Shu says that he has, that his 40-year long quest is truly over now. Kang asks what he plans on doing now, when a loud voice yells "Dying!" Shujinko wonders who that is, but Liu Kang and most everyone else can tell who that is.

The doors to Onaga's chambers shoot open and in walks a figure, whom Liu Kang says is Raiden. But it's not the same Raiden we saw in _Deadly Alliance_, he is now Dark Raiden. Kang asks where he has been and kinda awkwardly says he is happy to see him. Raiden tells Kang that he was away, in thought. Kung Lao asks why he said "Dying!" earlier, and Raiden reveals that he has come to punish Shujinko. Shu backs away slowly as Liu Kang angrily questions why, since he defeated Onaga. Raiden angrily retorts that it is Shujinko's fault that Onaga got the Kamidogu in the first place. For almost dooming the realms, Shu must be punished. Kotal, Kung Lao, Kung Jin, and Kitana try and attack Raiden but they are easily pushed back by red lighting. The others attempt to stop Raiden, but he easily counters and knocks them away. Eventually, only Liu Kang is left to defend Shujinko. Kang questions what has happened to the Thunder God, his behavior reminds him of how he acted when they first met in _MK1_. Raiden says that was the god he needs to be now. He believes that Liu Kang and the others got him soft, which led to him becoming a less capable warrior, which is why he failed to stop the Deadly Alliance. As he was reforming in the heavens, Raiden had time to think about this. He is no longer gonna be a soft, passive protector god incapable of defending his own realm and warriors. Raiden will now protect Earthrealm in any way he can. Kang tries to tell him that is not the right path, but Raiden just says that he has embraced the way of "The ends justify the means." He then lets it slip that he was the one who turned Kang's corpse into an undead killing machine. This revelation shocks Kang so much, that he drops his guard and allows himself to be pushed away by Raiden.

The Thunder God then knocks Shujinko to the ground with his staff and continuously blasts him with lighting for several minutes. Kang eventually regains his senses, only for Raiden to finish and disappear in a bolt of red lighting. He runs over to Shujinko, who lies on the ground with burn marks all over his body. Liu Kang apologizes for not being able to help Shu, asking him to forgive him. Shujinko dismisses it, saying he probably deserved this for his actions. Kang tells him he's tired of him saying that, but Shujinko says it's fine. He thanks them for breaking him out of his disillusionment and helping him right his wrong before his death. Shujinko sighes, telling Kang he must be going now. He can see Zhao and Ling, his father and grandfather, waiting for him in the Heavens. Shujinko sighes once again and draws his last breath.

A week later, we find ourselves back in the graveyard of Damashi. The funeral is being attended by Liu Kang, the good guys, and Wang. They give some parting words, after which Shu is lowered into his grave.

Following the funeral, the Forces of Light are seen hanging out at the outside of the town gates. Ermac is seen standing alone by a tree and we learn would that whole thing that happened earlier with him was about. It turns out King Jerrod has finally gained control of Ermac after all these years. His first thought was to immediately tell Sindel and Kitana about this, but he thinks that he should off on that for now. He can sense that something big is going to happen soon, something that could spell the end for them all. Jerrod feels that telling them, only for it to potentially be taken away again so soon, would be too cruel. He needs to wait and see how things play out. If they survive, he will reunite with his family.

Meanwhile, the Forces of Light begin to part ways. Liu Kang says he needs to go on his own, search for a way to bring himself back fully. He hopes to also encounter Raiden and find out why he brought his corpse to live. Kitana wishes him luck, alongside Johnny and Sonya. The latter two, as good friends of Kang for many years, offer him their help if he evers needs it. Fujin promises Kang that he will also look into finding his own way to resurrect him, which Kang apperciates. Kung Lao meanwhile tells Jin how proud he is of him and decides that is going to start teaching him personally, much to Jin's delight. The Forces of Light declare to one another that they will likely have to meet again someday and they hope that they'll be ready for the next threat. The game pans to the sky, bringing _Deception_ to a close.

In a mid-credits scene, we see Mileena has taken the throne of Onaga's Palace and has become Empress of Outworld sometime after the Dragon King's defeat. Suddenly, the palace is stormed by a mysterious army. Mileena wanders whose army is it, as the doors to the throne room slam open. In walks Goro and Shao Kahn, the two apparently still alive.

The post-credits scene takes place 6 months after Onaga's defeat. We see Ermac wandering through the wastelands of Outworld once more. He still senses the big thing from earlier, only know he can sense that said event might spell the end of not only them, but all of the realms. Jerrod wanders just when this event will occur as we suddenly switch to a different location. There's a strange monolith with green runes on it. The front of it suddenly breaks away and we see a figure emerge from the structure. Smash cut to black with the words, "TO BE CONTINUED…"

Well, that's _Deception _finally over! The longest of the Wasted Plotentials so far. As you can tell, I increased some character roles and tried to add more to the post-Konquest story. Liu Kang and Kung Jin in particular, whom I consider the deuteragonist and tritagonist respectively. There's also some set up for the final story in the Original Timeline, _Armageddon_. I hope you enjoyed this long, three-parter on _Deception_!

Next time, we aren't doing _Armageddon_. We are going to have in-between _Deception _and Armageddon. If you've been paying attention, you already know what it is. The next Wasted Plotential is gonna be _Shaolin Monks_. And like _Special Forces_, this one is gonna be a total rewrite. Good night and stay tuned for more Wasted Plotentials in the future.


	13. WP: Shaolin Monks (Part 1)

**WELCOME TO "WASTED PLOTENTIAL- MORTAL KOMBAT: SHAOLIN MONKS"**

Here we are, the second-to-last chapter in the Wasted Plotential series on the Original Timeline. _Shaolin Monks_ was a retelling of the end of _MK1_ and the entirety of _MK2_, focusing entirely on Liu Kang and Kung Lao. Most people I've seen don't seem to like the story and I feel, of course, there was wasted opportunity.

That's where this Wasted Plotential comes in. Instead of retelling, we are gonna make this a prequel like _Special Forces_ and _Mythologies_. It will focus on the two monks, show their lives up until the events of _MK1_, the road they took to become great warriors, and how they eventually came together to defeat an evil. I feel that it would be uninteresting to have another adventure spin-off, so how about something different? I was thinking something like an RPG, since Liu Kang and Kung Lao's growth as warriors would be a big focus. Could even keep the co-op like in _Secret of Mana_. I just had a feeling people would get tired of MK spin-offs if they were all of the same genre. Overall, this story is going to be different and it may not feel that applicable to a game, but I still wanted to tell it regardless.

Like in _Deception_, I'll be using **bold **time and location text when it is a significant change or when we switch focus characters. It would start with Kang and Lao together, separate them as their training goes different ways, then we would bring them back together towards the end.

With that out of the way let's get started on the Wasted Plotential for _Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks_!

**SOMEWHERE IN SOUTHWESTERN CHINA**

**THE WU SHI ACADEMY**

**FEBRUARY 22ND, 1968**

The Wu Shi Academy is a prestigious school for monks, located near one of the many Shaolin Temples. This academy was established by the Great Kung Lao in 1504 AD. His goal was to create a martial arts school for the shaolin to train new warriors to protect Earthrealm and fight in the Mortal Kombat Tournament. For centuries, the academy has been the pride of the shaolin monks. Many of China's greatest warriors from throughout history were trained here.

We find Kung Zhang, around 47 years old and obviously looking much younger then he does in _MK1_ onwards, running through the academy. He accidentally bumps into one of the student monks in his rush, the two falling to the ground. The student asks why Zhang is in a rush and he explains that he is about to become a grandfather, before running off again.

Zhang arrives in a hallway in the hospital of the Academy. Down the hall, he sees Kung Jiao-Long waiting outside one of the rooms. It's here where we learn a bit about the Kung family tree. Zhang has three kids; Jiao-Long (26), Lin (24), Shen (21).

Currently, Jiao is the only one of the three who is still residing at the Shaolin Temple. Lin left when she turned 18 to marry her lover, Liu Lee. Two years ago, Shen departed to go on a journey in search of spiritual enlightenment and his current whereabouts are unknown. Jiao has been married happily to a woman named Ju for about 3 years now. Finally, today is the day that they will receive their child and new member of the Great Kung Lao bloodline.

Zhang is pleased to see his son, but wonders why he isn't in there with Ju. Jiao, who noticeably has some dried tears, sadly informs his father that there is some issues. Unexpected complications occurred during delivery. They are trying everything they can to save Ju and the child, Jiao simply could not watch. The two continue discussing the issues, when one of the doctors exits Ju's room. He is sad to inform Jiao that Ju has died from complications of childbirth. Thankfully, they were able to save the boy and he's perfectly fine. The doctor leads Zhang and Jiao into the room. A cover has been put over Ju's body, while the baby has been put in a small crib. Jiao is shown griefing at the loss of his wife. Zhang tries to lighten him up by reminding him of the child. They walk over and see the beautiful, baby boy who starts crying like a typical newborn. Zhang asks what he is going to name him, Jiao thinking it over very hard. When the name Lao is brought up, the baby stops crying. Jiao repeats the name to the baby, who seems to laugh at it. He decides he'll name the baby Lao, after their ancestor.

**A SMALL VILLAGE IN THE HENAN PROVINCE**

**AUGUST 24TH, 1968**

We find ourselves in a rural village where the people are buzzing with excitement. Due to how small the town is, everyone knows everything that happens and are quite close to one another. At the hospital, we see that Liu Lin has just given birth to another baby which Lee is holding. Their first child was Liu Chow, who was born in 1963. The three eye the little baby with happiness and wonder. Chow asks what they are going to name it. Lin says she named Chow, so this time Lee can name the child. Lee thinks about it for a while, before saying that he'll name him Kang, after his pet dog from when he was a kid. Thus, Liu Kang was born! We see the Liu family take Kang home and we get a little montage of Lee and Lin taking care of him.

Two months later, the Liu family went on a picnic together in the nearby woods. They were cheerfully eating, telling jokes and stories, when Lee heard a strange sound in the distance. It did not sound like an animal or any natural sound, so Lee decided to go do a quick investigation. After several minutes, he suddenly came running back. He seemed startled and said they needed to get out of here, confusing Lin and Chow. Suddenly, they were surrounded by several cloaked figures. Lin immediately recognized them as a dangerous gang of bandits, that have been making the rounds around China in the last few years. Lee realizes that they are big trouble, he gives a look to Lin who knows right away his plan. He starts attacking the bandits, while Lin hands baby Kang to Chow, telling him to run as far as he can. Chow is crying, confused and says he doesn't want to leave them but Lin yells at him to go. After Chow starts running, Lin joins Lee in fighting the bandits.

Chow eventually finds himself on the dirt road that leads back to town, but he is surrounded by more bandits. They circle around him, getting ready to strike at him and Kang. All of a sudden, they hear a man give out a loud warrior shout. Chow and the bandits turn, only to see a large fat man do a Flying Kick on one the goons. It's none other than Master Bo' Rai Cho, who easily kicks the ass of all the bandits. He finishes the last one my whacking him in the head with his cane. Cho asks Chow if he is okay, who then starts bawling and telling him everything that's happened. Worried, Cho has Chow take him to where their parents were. Unfortunately, they are too late. The bandits are gone, Lee and Lin's corpses left on the ground. We see Master Cho try to comfort the grieving Chow as they head back to the dirt road. The bandits Cho knocked out earlier are still there, so he decides to examine them to see if he can find any clues. Cho suddenly turns pale white, Chow asking what's wrong. On the back of the cloaks the bandits wear, is the symbol of Shao Kahn's army. Cho turns to Chow and says that he is going to separate him and the baby. Chow is naturally against this, but stops when he sees how serious Cho is. Whatever he discovered, it was bad enough to warrant this.

We then see Chow being sent aboard a ship to America. He looks back at the harbor, where we see Bo' Rai Cho holding baby Kang. Chow waves goodbye as Cho walks away. He wonders just what Cho saw back with the bandits and wonders if he will ever get answers or if he'll ever see his brother again. As established in the _MK4_ WP, Chow ends up being adopted by a wealthy family in Upstate New York. At some point he starts training in taekwondo and eventually gets an office job. This is the last we'll see of Chow in _Shaolin Monks_, as he doesn't appear again in the timeline until the end of _MK3_.

The scene cuts to the Shaolin Temple, where Zhang and Jiao are preparing to head over to the Wu Shi Academy for the day. One of the monks calls out to them and he leads them to the front step of the temple. Sitting there is a basket, containing a baby. Zhang asks if there was anything special, since the guy specifically sought out them. The monk hands Zhang a letter, addressed to him, that was also in the basket. Zhang is surprised to see that the letter is from Bo' Rai Cho, an old friend that he trained under as a kid. We learn here that much like Kang will in the future, Zhang trained under the master and even competed in the Mortal Kombat Tournament of 1942, but obviously lost. The letter recaps to Zhang all that has happened to Kang and his family. He also says not to tell Kang about his brother or about his killers being related to Shao Kahn, believing that Kang could be endangered or endanger himself with this knowledge. Jiao decides we will take Kang and raise him alongside Lao. We get a brief montage of the early years of Kang and Lao's life, showing how they were raised like brothers and became very good friends.

**WU SHI ACADEMY**

**FEBRUARY 22ND, 1975**

It's a wonderful bright and early morning at the Wu Shi Academy. We see Kang and Lao playing around with the other kids in the training yard. They are doing a reenactment of the Mortal Kombat Tournament of 1492, with Lao playing the role of the Great Kung Lao and Liu Kang playing the role of Shang Tsung. They are suddenly interrupted by the arrival of Zhang, Jiao, and Master Wu. They wish Lao a happy 7th birthday, also requesting him to come with them to the Master's chambers. Lao heads off with them, telling Kang they'll resume their little game later. This could possibly be where the player first gains control, being able to walk around the academy as Lao and interact with some fellow students and monks.

At the chambers, we see three other important monks as Wu takes his seat. Zhang grabs a large box from one corner of the room as Lao kneels before Wu. The box is set in front of Lao, Wu telling him to open it. He finds inside the headband and gauntlets of the Great Kung Lao, much to his wonder. Zhang suddenly closes the box and takes it back. The monks explain that these are the keepsakes of the Great Kung Lao, passed down through the family for generations. Lao asks if they are giving it to him, but Zhang tells Lao that he is not worthy of it yet. At this point, Lao wonders what they have brought him here for. Wu sits up straight and tells Lao there is much to say and to prepare himself. We see Liu Kang sneaking into the chambers, unnoticed, as Wu begins to speak.

The next Mortal Kombat Tournament is just 17 years from now. As it just so happens, this tournament is the a very important one and will occur while Lao is in his prime. If the Immortal Champion Goro wins this, Emperor Shao Kahn will be allowed to legally invade the Earth. In all likelihood, we would not win that war and our world will be merged with Outworld. As a descendant of the Great Kung Lao, you are our best hope for saving Earthrealm. Lao will learn his ancestor's great techniques and go through rough training. With discipline and determination, Lao can possibly gain enough power and skill to overthrow the mighty Goro. His training will begin today with Master Wu.

Kung Lao doesn't really like this whole thing. While he was fascinated with the stories of the Mortal Kombat Tournament, he surprisingly never had any desire to compete in it. Before he can actually voice this opinion, Kang accidentally reveals himself to everyone. He is jealous of Lao and wants training as well. Unlike Lao, Kang has always had a love for martial arts and the idea of competing in Mortal Kombat. The tales of the tournament's history and the vile acts of Shang Tsung gave him the motivation to participate in this great competition. One of things about Kang and Lao's character starting out, is they would have a reverse dynamic that they normally do. If you are familiar with the "Red Oni, Blue Oni" concept, you'll know that typically Lao is red while Kang is blue. As young kids, we'd see that this originally the opposite case. Kang was headstrong and reckless, possibly bordering on Idiot Hero. Meanwhile, Lao was more reserved as a kid and less hot-headed then he would become later on. As their training and lives go different ways, we'd see how they grow and how the dynamic become reversed as young adults.

Wu is reluctant to allow Kang to participate in their training, for the previously mentioned traits. He also doesn't think as highly of Kang compared to Lao, due the former being from the branch family. Zhang and Jiao argue that he should be allowed to take part in their special training, reasoning that Kang's spirit for their cause is outstanding and regardless of being from the branch family, he is still a descendant of the Great Kung Lao. They should at least give him a chance, which Wu reluctantly agrees to. Kang celebrates, asking "Isn't this great?" to Lao. He seems to be lost in thought. Lao isn't too sure he wants to spend the next 17 years training, as that seems like a big chunk of your life to a little kid. He eventually returns to reality as Kang asks if there is anything wrong. Lao brushes it off and the two leave the chambers to start learning.

A montage shows Liu Kang and Kung Lao learning Shaolin Kung Fu from Master Wu. We see them learning the art, some funny moments, learning the ways and morals of the Shaolin, and them bonding with Wu. They also meet Kai during their training, the three becoming close friends.

Meanwhile, we find ourselves at Shao Kahn's Palace in Outworld. A shadow priest is seen sneakily leaving the place, narrowly avoiding some tarkatan patrollers. He makes his way to the Living Forest, where Bo' Rai Cho is waiting. It turns out this particular priest is an informant for Cho. Once Cho saw Shao Kahn's symbol on the cloaks of the bandits, he soon made his way to Outworld to find answers. Cho, not messing around, quickly grabs him and immediately wants to know what he discovered. The priest explains, the Shadow Priests have limited view of the future. Because of this, Shao Kahn often consults them about future threats to his empire, his battle plans, and other business. He was a bit unnerved when the Shadow Priests told them that there was a child born in China, that could one day threaten his rule. They were able to pinpoint the area where that child was, so he sent some assassins out take care of the situation. Cho thanks him for the information and departs back to Earthrealm. During the trip back, Cho considers all this and wonders if Liu Kang is "The Chosen One."

**WU SHI ACADEMY**

**APRIL 2ND, 1977**

Over the last 2 years, Kang, Lao, and Kai have been making excellent progress in their training. The former two especially have learned much faster then expected. We also establish Kai's father, Huang. He is shown to be extremely strict with Kai's training and judgemental, which leads to Kai having a lack of self-confidence. The three kids are taken to the Master's chambers where Wu properly introduces them to Bo' Rai Cho, whom the three had previously only heard stories about him. Cho decides to entertain them, regaling tales of his daring feats and of him training warriors to compete in Mortal Kombat for generations. Wu reveals to the three that there is another reason he introduced Cho to them. In 3 weeks, a tournament will be held at the Northern Temple for both the junior and youth monks. The winner of each division will be sent to train at Bo' Rai Cho's palace and learn his trade. The three kids are naturally excited at this prospect, as learning under Cho is considered a great and rare privilege.

Kai and his father pack, heading to the Northern Temple on their own. Kang and Lao gather their things as they discuss the tournament. It starts out as just them speculating the competition, which quickly turns into a heated argument about which of the two is better. The two monks spar, ending in a draw. Lao declares that at the tournament, he will defeat Kang and prove that he is worthy of the Great Kung Lao bloodline. Kang says he can't wait and leaves to do some exercises. After he departs, Lao sits on his bed and sighes. Jiao walks in and asks how he is, noticing his son's exasperated expression. Lao admits that despite his words and excitement, when he actually sits down and thinks the luster all goes away. He just feels that the life of warrior isn't for him and doesn't understand why Kang seems to enjoy it so much. Jiao sighes and sits down with Lao. He says that everyone feels that way sometimes, that the life you are living isn't the one you'd like to be living. However, you can't always live the life you want. You are going to have to make due with what you have. Lao asks how he can do that, but Jiao just says that only Lao can find the answer to that. He mentions that Zhang often told him stories about how he was reluctant to train for Mortal Kombat, to the point he regularly half-assed his practice. This was probably the main factor in him being eliminated in the 1942 Mortal Kombat, he wouldn't, or couldn't, accept that life. After the tournament, Zhang was able to live as he wanted. Years later, he came to realize how foolish he had been and still believes that he is an embarrassment to the Great Kung Lao bloodline. Zhang apparently still wonders that if, he had taken his training seriously, maybe he could have stopped Goro and save the Earth. Lao is shocked, as he never knew that his grandfather carried such pain. Jiao tells him that regardless of which paths he chooses in life, he will always be proud of him. He leaves, but not before Lao thanks him for the talk.

Master Wu, Liu Kang, and Kung Lao depart from the Academy to the cheers of the students and other monks. They must make their way to the Northern Temple, they only have 3 weeks to get there. This would be the first major section, with the player having both Kang and Lao as party members while Wu is just an NPC. The player would have to navigate to the Northern Temple, maybe there's a town that you can stop in along the way for sidequests and stuff. During the travel, Wu can give out advice to the two and we see how close the three are.

They eventually arrive at the Northern Temple, where they see hundreds of child and teenage monks. We see that Kai and his father have arrived already, the two leading them to the sign-ups for the Junior tournament. After everything is settled, the Master of the Temple gathers the attention of the competing monks. He reiterates how the winner of the Junior and Youth divisions will get to train under Bo' Rai Cho, their greatest teacher. The next Mortal Kombat is just 15 years away, so the monks have begun making preparations to make this generation the strongest and best to hopefully give them the warrior they need to overthrow Champion Goro. They will practice and train for 3 days, then the tournament will begin. He dismisses everyone for the day, thus the crowd of young monks begin buzzing with talk about the tournament, Mortal Kombat, Goro, and Bo' Rai Cho. Kang, Kai, and Lao all brag about how each of them will win the tournament. They are suddenly interrupted by a smug-sounding voice. We see a monk, about the same age as them, strut up to the three. He introduces himself as Chan of the Eastern Temple. His older brother Gang is competing in the Youth tournament. He declares that the two of them will win and train under Bo' Rai Cho together. Liu Kang asks why he is so sure, with Chan saying it is because that the two of them are the greatest up-and-coming shaolin warriors ever. We get an idea of how arrogant and smug Chan is, quickly getting on Kang's nerves. Liu Kang swears that he will defeat Chan in the tournament, only to be meet with laughter. He mocks Kang, riles up Lao by insulting the Great Kung Lao bloodline, before cockily strutting away. The two then argue about who will get to beat Chan, but Kai thankfully manages to break it up.

At this point, the player can train up Liu Kang and Kung Lao by having them use the training yard and sparring with the other monks. Once they are done, they can use the bed in their quarters to advance to the next day until the day of the tournament.

The bracket for the Junior Tournament is all laid out. Kai vs. Chan will be the opening match of this division, much to their surprise. Kai is a bit nervous, but Kang and Lao reassure him. They promise they'll be there to cheer him on, however this does little to calm Kai down.

Soon, Kai is called to the arena to fight Chan. At the arena, we see that Huang, Zhang, Jiao, and Bo' Rai Cho have all arrived to watch the tournament. Kai nervously walks onto the arena's platform, looking around for Chan. A silence breaks out as Chan is nowhere to be seen, only for him to suddenly walk out of the Temple doors. He is surrounded by a crowd of monks, including his brother Gang. They pick him up and carry him to the arena. Most of the older monk show disdain for this, while the younger ones are in awe. Kai and Chan assume fighting stances as the gong rings, starting the fight.

This fight is actually playable, but the player actually takes control of Chan. It is impossible to lose this fight, as Chan has insanely high stats compared to Kai. This will also give the player an idea of Chan's abilities, strengths, and weaknesses for when they fight him later.

Kai loses, quite badly, to Chan. First match of the tournament and he is already knocked out. The young monks cheer for Chan's victory, while Kang and Lao are devesated by Kai's loss. Kai looks to his father, calling out to him. Huang just shakes his head and walks away. Kai runs from the arena and manages to catch up to his father. He chokes on his words, until Huang tells his son that it is just as he thought. Kai isn't ready for kombat, he has failed as a trainer. Kai begs for another chance, but Huang isn't so sure. He is caught off guard by the sounds of Kai crying and realizes that he is being kinda a dick to his son. Kai just lost, badly, then hears about how his father failed him. Huang frowns, walks over to Kai, and hugs him. He apologizes and promises Kai that once they get back to the Temple, they will start the next stage of his training. This seems to cheer up Kai, who thanks his dad.

For the rest of the Junior Tournament, the player would switch between playing as Kang and Lao. Zhang and Jiao would act as coaches, respectively. In between matches, the player can explore the Temple, spar with some of the other students, or advance right away to the next match. We wouldn't see the entire tournament, but the player would play Kang and Lao's first three matches of the competition. Kang is enjoying himself, just kinda having fun. Meanwhile, Lao is shown to be taking the whole thing very seriously and beats himself over any mistake he makes.

We montage through the next 3 rounds of the tournament, ending with Kang, Lao, and Chan advancing to the Semi-Finals. Bo' Rai Cho is impressed by the skill of the three, noting that he hasn't seen anyone else here with their level of fighting prowess. He overhears some of the other young monks debating who will win the Junior tournament. Quite a few are betting on Chan still, he has been showing exceptional technique and has never been knocked down the entire competition so far. Meanwhile, some monks are placing their guess on Liu Kang or Kung Lao. One of the younglings notices Bo' Rai Cho and asks who he thinks is gonna win. Cho says that he is not sure, really either one of the three could take it. However, his thoughts reveal differently. He remembers what the Shadow Priest had told him about the attack, 9 years ago. If Liu Kang truly is "The Chosen One", then Bo' Rai Cho fully expects him to win the tournament. The next big match is Liu Kang vs. Chan. The latter walks up to Kang and admits that he has done better than he expected. Regardless, Kang is still no match for him. Kai tries to defend Kang, but he restrains him. He tells Kai that it isn't worth it, all that matters now is their match.

At the arena, we see Kang and Chan arrive for battle. There is much debate and chatter from the audience about who will win. We see Kung Lao and Kai sitting alongside Zhang and Jiao. Lao has already defeated his opponent, guaranteeing him a spot in the finals. Zhang isn't confident that Liu Kang can win, but Lao is sure that Kang can overcome that arrogant jerk. The gong rings and the fight begins.

Naturally, this would be the first of the game's boss fights. Chan would have a high agility and defense stat, making it potentially difficult to take him down if the player hasn't focused on leveling up Liu Kang. Maybe the music for boss fights could be a remix of the main Mortal Kombat theme.

After a narrow battle, Liu Kang manages to KO Chan. Lao, Kai, Zhang, and Jiao cheer for Kang's victory, while Cho just smiles and walks away from the arena. As Liu Kang embraces the crowd, Chan suddenly get up and approaches him. His frown turns to a smile as he extends his hand to Kang and the two have a hearty handshake. Chan apologizes for his rude behavior and compliments Kang's skills. Kang thanks Chan, saying that he was great. Chan is glad he could fight someone better and wishes him luck in the Final. Suddenly, Gang walks up to the two. Chan is nervous, thinking his brother is gonna be disappointed in him for losing. He is surprised when Gang tells him that was a good fight. Chan thanks his bro for the kind words and the two walk off. Kung Lao and Kai are shown discussing the best parts of the battle, with Kang coming over to join them. Their discussion is interrupted when Jiao tells Lao he will need to start practicing, the Junior tournament finals is in 3 days. This is when it finally hits Kung Lao and Liu Kang that the final match, that determines who gets to train with Bo' Rai Cho, will pit the two friends against each other. Kang wants to wish Lao luck and to give it his all, only for Lao to suddenly run off. We find him in the training yard, desperately practicing. He wants to prove himself as worthy of the Great Kung Lao bloodline and is actually afraid that Kang will beat him. Lao is worried that if he loses, he won't get another chance to prove himself.

We get a montage of both Liu Kang and Kung Lao spending the next 3 days, practicing and training for their match. During this we get a glimpse of the final match of the Youth tournament, in which Gang emerges as the victor. Zhang is shown coaching Kang, while Jiao is instructing Lao. Eventually, we reach the day of the fight. The two monks head to the arena and stare each other down as the gong rings.

This fight would see the player take control of Liu Kang. As a nice detail, we could have Lao's stats and abilities based on what the player has done with him so far.

The battle comes to close, with Liu Kang finishing Lao off with an uppercut. The monks sound the gong and the Master declares Kang the champion of the Junior tournament. Lao picks himself up and punches the ground, frustrated at his loss. Kang offers to help Kung Lao up, but he refuses and dashes away. Jiao follows while Zhang and Wu walk up to Liu Kang, personally congratulating him on his victory. Kang bows to them, but he keeps looking over concerned at where Lao ran off.

Jiao catches up to Kung Lao and slaps him for dishonorable behavior. Kung Lao rants about Liu Kang to his father, who angrily yells as Lao for his words. Suddenly, he clutches his chest and falls to his knees. Lao's anger switches to concern as he asks if his father is okay. Jiao seems to return to normal, telling his son not to worry about it. The two now calm, begin discussing Lao's loss. Jiao tells his son that just because he lost this tournament, does not mean he is unworthy of the Great Kung Lao bloodline. There is still many years ahead of them for him to prove that he is, he shouldn't be concerned with this one failure. Lao thanks his father for the words, but Jiao can still tell how sad his son is. He promises Lao that Master Wu will show him something very interesting when they get back home. This seems to lift Lao's spirits, as he grows curious about what his father could be talking about.

That evening, we find an award ceremony taking place for Liu Kang and Gang. They are given champion medals for winning their respective tournaments. The two are to return to their temples, make their goodbyes, and gather their things. In one month, Bo' Rai Cho will arrive to take them away for the next stage of their training. The monks applaud the two one last time, as we pan over to a balcony that is overlooking the ceremony. We see an unseen figure talking with a mysterious man. Said man seems to be an older guy, with slightly greying brown hair, green robes with a gold trim, and a small goatee. The figure asks the man if he found what he was looking for at this tournament. The man remains silent for a moment and we cut to a shot of Kang and Lao. He then smiles and says that he might have just found the two he needs to carry out his plans.

After returning to the Shaolin Temple, Jiao leads Kung Lao back to the chambers of Master Wu. He wonders what Jiao promised to show him, when Master Wu appears with a large chest. Inside, is a special razor-rimmed hat. This catches Lao's eye, as Wu explains what the hat is. It was a specially made hat, with extremely sharp edges. The hat was originally made by Wu's great-great-great grandfather and has been passed to the eldest child in the family ever since. Back in his younger days, Wu used the hat in martial arts kombat and was quite famous for his technique and combos that he used with it. In his old age, he can no longer use it like he once did. Unfortunately, Wu never had any kids so he wasn't able to pass it on to anyone. He places the hat on Kung Lao's head, welcoming him to the next stage of his training.

Shortly afterwards, Lao heads over to the Wu Shi Academy where he runs into Liu Kang. We can sense that Lao still feels some sort of tension and jealousy towards Kang, but he manages to hide it rather well. Lao expects Kang to be in wonder over his hat, but Liu Kang instead asks if he has seen Kai at all. He suddenly realizes that he hasn't seen Kai at all since they returned from the tournament. They walk over to a group of monks and ask if they have seen Kai. The monks look at one another, eventually deciding to explain.

We cut to Kai and his father, Huang, walking down a dirt road. They cross a hill and Kai takes one last look back at the Temple and Academy. We hear one of the monks above say that after Kai's miserable performance in the competition, Huang decided that he needed to step-up his son's training. They are going on a training journey across the world and that they will be gone for some time. Liu Kang and Kung Lao are sad to hear all this, wondering if they'll ever see Kai again.

**SHAOLIN TEMPLE**

**ONE MONTH LATER...**

We see Kung Lao running down a hall, eventually coming across his father's room. He opens the door excitedly, but that drops with what he sees. Jiao is clutching his chest, while popping some sort of pills. Once he sees Lao is here, he hastily shove the pills away and dusts himself off, asking what Lao needs to tell him. Lao is obviously concerned, but decides to drop it for now and informs his father that Bo' Rai Cho has arrived and they need to see Liu Kang off. Kung Lao grabs his father's hand and begins dragging him to the temple gates.

They arrive to see Liu Kang and Cho attaching his bags to a horse, Zhang and Wu are seen talking to one another when they notice Lao and Jiao's arrival. Jiao tells Lao to go see Kang, it might be a while before they see each other again and he has something he'd like to discuss with Zhang and Wu. Lao walks over to Kang and we get a nice little bonding moment between the two. Kung Lao says he won't let himself fall behind Liu Kang, that he'll become stronger and even the score between them. Kang meanwhile wishes Lao luck on his own training and that he hopes he'll see him again soon. Bo' Rai Cho interrupts to say it's time to go, helping Liu Kang up onto his horse. The two monks share one last look at one another before waving goodbye. Kang and Cho's horses trot out of the gates, which slam shut behind them. Lao tears up a bit, before Jiao grabs his hand and tells him that they should go resume his training. Kung Lao lightly smiles as we hear his thoughts, that he will become strong for both the Earth and for Liu Kang.

Back on the road, Liu Kang and Bo' Rai Cho are seen laughing and talking about random stuff. Kang mentions how he can't wait to finally see what Master Cho's Palace looks like, but is confused when Cho laughs at that remark. Bo' Rai Cho tells Liu Kang that he is not going to the palace right away, that they are heading somewhere else first. Kang scratches his head, wondering what Cho could be talking about, as they take the road eastward.

**HAIBIAN, A SMALL PORT TOWN IN THE FUJIAN PROVINCE**

**JULY 7TH, 1977**

After several weeks of travel, the two cross over a hill and Bo' Rai Cho introduces Kang to the port town of Haibian. Kang is taken away by the beauty of the place, complemented by the wonderful sunrise. Bo' Rai Cho starts moving towards the town as Kang asks what exactly it is they are doing here. Cho says he will find out soon enough as they head towards the beach. They come across a building labelled, "Hai's Fishing and Boat Rental Shop." Cho knocks on the door and a cantankerous old man slams the door open. He yells about how they aren't open yet and seems ready to blow a casket, when he suddenly recognizes Cho. The old man hugs Cho, saying it's been way too long, the two exchange pleasantries and laughs. Cho calls Kang over, introducing the old man as a buddy of his named Hai. He's a fishermen by trade and also rents out boats to the townspeople. Hai shakes Kang's hand, saying he is glad to finally get some help around here. Liu Kang is confused by that remark, that's when Bo' Rai Cho explains that he is going to be working for Hai. This naturally shocks Kang, even further when Cho says that he will be leaving him with Hai for THREE years. Kang becomes angry, asking how doing something as boring as fishing could possibly help him become a great martial artist. Hai then whacks Kang in the back of the head with a rolled up newspaper, saying fishing is NOT boring and to respect Master Bo' Rai Cho's orders. Cho tells him to calm down and kneels before Liu Kang. He says this will help Kang build some character and that he will understand why this is important to his training, once he returns. He unhooks Liu Kang's bags from his horse and Kang begs Cho not leave him behind. Bo' Rai Cho just repeats himself, that Kang can guarantee he'll be back in 3 years on the dot. Hai waves goodbye as Cho rides away, Kang doing so but quite uncomfortably.

Hai gives Liu Kang a tour of the shop, revealing the building is also his home. He shows various rooms, including where he will be sleeping, all the while Kang is clearly unhappy about all this. He then takes Kang out to the pier, where he has the boat and supplies prepared. Kang is about to step on the boat, but Hai pulls him and tells him they first have to load the supplies. Liu Kang is fine with this, until Hai tells him that Kang is going to be loading all of it by himself. This includes multiple fishing poles, all the different bait boxes, among other miscellaneous stuff. Kang argues that this is too much for a kid, but Hai tells him to suck it up. Not only will he be doing this every time they go out fishing, but he will also be doing this for any fishermen that wishes to rent their boats. Which usually happens several times a day and that if he is going to be doing that for 3 years, he needs to get used to it now. After Liu Kang messes up carrying the boxes into the boat, Hai sighs and shows him how to do it, while also giving some words of wisdom to Kang. They take the boat out and Hai teaches Liu Kang how to fish. We get some funny moments as the two argue, Kang messes it up to impatience and his temperamental attitude, and Hai's grumpiness towards him. This goes on for a bit until Liu Kang actually manages to make an excellent catch on a 20-pound fish. Hai genuinely compliments Kang's catch, though Kang just attributes it to luck. He sails the boat back to the pier and steps out. Hai tells Kang to go back to where they were and not return until he either catches 50 fish or gets a load weighing at least 500 pounds. Kang thinks this is ridiculous, asking where Hai is going. As he indicated earlier, the shop is opening soon and he does have a business to run. Before Kang can run off the boat, Hai kicks it out to sea and wishes him luck. Liu Kang returns to the spot where him and Hai were earlier and casts out his line. He smiles cheerfully, imagining he'll be done in no time as fishing doesn't seem to be that difficult. A time card saying "30 minutes later" briefly appears before cutting back, revealing that Liu Kang has caught absolutely nothing. His smile has changed to a look of utter despair as he realizes this might take a while.

We then cut to 1 o'clock in the afternoon. Hai is helping a couple into a boat and is loading supplies for some fishermen who are renting another. One of the fishermen points out to a boat heading to the pier, which is of course Kang's boat. Liu Kang parks the boat at the pier and jumps out, exhausted and exasperated, telling Hai that he is FINALLY done. Hai jumps in the boat and begins counting, surprised to see that Kang actually did follow his orders and caught 50 fish. He puts his hand on Kang's shoulder and congratulates him for a job well done. He takes Liu Kang inside and gives him a nice, hot lunch that Kang just snarfs down. Hai tells Kang he can rest for 10 minutes, but then to meet him back at the pier and he'll start his work for the rest of the day.

After that small break, Liu Kang returns to the pier and we see another set of supplies waiting for him. Hai is seen on one of the boats, laughing and talking with some fellow fishermen. Once he sees Kang, he steps off the boat and asks if he is well rested. Before Kang can answer, Hai just replies "Good" and continues talking. A lot of people rent their boats for recreational or commercial fishing. Hai showed Kang how to properly do this earlier, now he will begin loading all the supplies for the fishermen. He will do this for every single fishermen that wishes to go out, until closing time. Liu Kang is livid at the idea of doing this for the next 8 hours, but Hai tells him that if he doesn't listen, his training with Bo' Rai Cho will be cancelled. Kang then apologizes and gets to work right away. We get a montage of Liu Kang spending the rest of the day doing this, occasionally messing up due to clumsiness or impatience.

That night, we see Liu Kang waiting at the pier for one of the boats to return. Hai watches him from the building and he eyes the clock, seeing that it is almost 9 PM. The boat returns and the fishermen leave with their catch for the day. Hai talks with them as they watch Liu Kang unload everything from the boat. One of the guys remarks how he is impressed at how a boy his age can do all this work, with Hai smiling and remarking that he is tougher than Cho led on. Once Liu Kang is finished, Hai grabs Kang by the arm and tells him it is closing time.

We cut to the dining room where Kang falls on his back from exhaustion while Hai is fetching their dinner. After Hai returns, the two begin eating and discuss the day. Liu Kang admits how much he hurts and is very exhausted. Hai tells him he will have to get used to it, this will be his life nearly everyday for the next 3 years. Liu Kang asks how Hai can stand doing this every day, he felt like he barely survived one. Hai chuckles and tells Kang that he has been running this business for 36 years, much to Liu Kang's amazement. All it takes is strength, discipline, and patience. Once Liu Kang gains these three things, he will find this work to be no problem at all. Hai starts telling Kang various stories from the 36 years he has spent running the business and the two bond. The scene ends with the two grabbing their cups of tea and doing a toast.

**WU SHI ACADEMY**

**APRIL 23RD, 1978**

We find ourselves in the training yard of the Wu Shi Academy, where various student monks are learning. Kung Lao is in the middle of practice with Master Wu, who has spent the last year or so passing on his own secret skills to Lao. We see Lao trying and practicing the Hat Toss, Dive Kick, and Whirlwind Spin, succeeding at some more than others. Wu sounds the gong and tells the monks to take a 30 minute rest. He walks up to Lao and compliments his progress as of late. Wu asks if he'd like to join him for lunch, but Kung Lao wants to go see his father so Wu bids him goodbye for now.

Lao is seen entering the hallway where his father's room is. As he approaches the door, he suddenly hears a large crash coming from inside the room. Panicked, Lao kicks down the door and screams. His father is lying on the ground, unconscious, with a bottle of pills spilled on the ground next to him. He cries out for help, luckily a passing monk hears him and they manage to get Jiao to the medical wing.

Two hours later, Kung Lao enters the wing and asks where his father is. He makes his way to the room, spotting Zhang and Wu standing outside the room. Zhang does not want Lao to see his father in his current state, but Wu says they can't keep the truth from him any longer. Suddenly, their doctor opens the door and informs them that Jiao has regained consciousness for now and wants all three of them to come in.

Jiao is seen hooked up to several tubes and a heart monitor. He welcomes Kung Lao, his voice sounding rather tired and weak. Lao bursts into tears and asks his father what is going on, he told him not to worry and now look what has happened! Jiao admits he always hoped he would be the lucky one and that this day would not come to pass. But now, he must tell Kung Lao what is going on. A terrible condition runs through the Kung bloodline, that they know very little about. All they do know is that the condition results in chronic heart problems as the individual gets older, eventually resulting in chest pains and heart attacks. He has been suffering these problems since he turned 30, hence why he has been taking those pills. The good news is that this condition has always skipped a generation, so Lao won't have to worry about having these problems. The bad news is that those with the condition have a fatality rate of 99%, most dying before the age of 40. Jiao had always wished that he would be that 1%, but it seems that he was just whistling past the graveyard. Lao asks the doctor about his father and he says that things don't look good, they believe that Jiao he could die as early as the end of this month. At most, he will not make it past this year. Jiao manages to weakly grab Lao's hand and tells him that no matter what is son does, what paths he takes, the decisions he makes, he will always love and be proud of him. He then falls unconscious once more as Lao hangs tightly onto his hand. An awkward silence follows as the doctor tells Zhang and Wu that they must leave Jiao for observation. The two tell Lao to come with them, which he eventually does.

Kung Lao ends up having a horrible nightmare that night. Not only does he dream of his father dying, but also Zhang, Wu, Bo' Rai Cho, and Kai. He then finds himself at the Wu Shi Academy and sees Liu Kang standing in the center of the training yard. Lao runs towards him, only for Kang to fall to the ground. He examines Kang, only to discover that he is dead. Jiao appears behind him, not budging an inch no matter what Lao does. Suddenly, Lao hears the sound of his own heart. The beating of his heart gets louder, faster, as he hears the screams of his dying loved ones. This absolutely torments Lao as the beating gets even louder and quicker. Eventually, his heart just explodes and Lao suddenly wakes up on his floor. It is morning and he apparently fell out of his bed sometime during the night. He is getting dressed when suddenly Zhang bursts into his room, telling him that it is about his father.

The two make their way back to the hospital, where Wu is waiting for them. They head into Jiao's room, where the doctor and several residents are desperately working on Jiao. It turns out that Jiao's heart suddenly began freaking out in an unexpectedly irregular manner, and that they are having trouble fixing the issue. Zhang, Wu, and Lao watch intensely. Lao begins silently crying, closing his eyes and whispering towards his father to please hang in there. All of a sudden, he hears the heart monitor stop beeping. A flatline has just occured, which causes Kung Lao to yell out and try to run towards his father, but Zhang and Wu restrain him. The doctor frantically orders the residents around and performs several procedures, then suddenly backs away from Jiao. He tells the residents to note the time and cause of death, much to Lao's horror. The doctor turns to them and has to sadly say that they did everything they could, but they have lost Kung Jiao-Long. Kung Lao suddenly bursts away from Zhang and Wu towards his father's bed. He begins shaking and calling out to his dad, asking him to please not die on him. He is only stopped when Zhang puts his hand on Lao's shoulder. He notices Zhang also begin crying and saying goodbye to his son. Lao turns back towards his father, starts crying again, before shouting "DAD!" as the camera pans up to the sky outside.

**TO BE CONTINUED IN PART II**


	14. WP: Shaolin Monks (Part 2)

We get a montage, set over the course of the next 3 years, of Kung Lao's training under Master Wu and Liu Kang working with Hai. Kung Lao is shown learning some of his special moves and maybe even his combos from some of the games. Over time, we also see the younger monks sort of idolize Kung Lao, which puts a lot of pressure on him. We also learn that his father's death has further motivated him to become strong and make him proud by winning the upcoming Mortal Kombat Tournament.

Meanwhile, Liu Kang is shown mastering fishing and lifting the supplies. We see Kang's impatient and headstrong nature start to fade away as he grows more accustomed to work and him bonding with Hai.

**SHAOLIN TEMPLE**

**MAY 16TH, 1980**

Kung Lao has arrived at Master Wu's chambers, having been called there for unknown reasons. He arrives and Wu hands him a package. There is a nearby town called Zhu Zin, about 2 hours away by walking. They are gonna start having Lao deliver various stuff to the town. This will give Lao a chance to leave the Temple and Academy every once in a while, plus the long walk there and back will give him some nice morning exercise. He is to deliver the package to Chen Yat-sen, the town tailor, before 4 PM. Kung Lao grabs the package and bows to Wu, promising that he will get there on time.

As Lao nears the town, he suddenly hears someone screaming in the nearby woods. Lao quickly investigates, finding a leopard circling a young girl, about his age. The girl has backed up to a tree and the leopard seems ready to pounce. Suddenly, a package smacks the Leopard in the head. The girl looks behind the leopard and sees Kung Lao in a fighting stance. The leopard turns down and rushes Lao, who holds up his hat to strike. Lao manages to slash the leopard across the face, but not before it claws him in the torso and headbutts Lao into a tree. The girl is worried that Lao is done for and cries. The leopard runs away, likely because of the injury Kung Lao inflicted on it. Lao sees the girl run over to him as he falls unconscious.

Kung Lao wakes up in the bedroom of a quaint, little house. He notices that his shirt is missing and that someone has bandaged up his wound. A tall, balding man enters the room and breathes a sigh of relief. He tells Lao that he has been out for cold for about half an hour now. Lao asks where he is and the man says that he is the town of Zhu Zin. He properly introduces himself as Chen Yat-sen, the town tailor. This reminds Lao of the package he was supposed to give him, but Yat-sen says not to worry about it. His daughter picked it up as she brought him here, though the contents are completely ruined from Lao throwing it at the leopard. Lao apologizes, but Yat-sen just says things are alright. He asks if Lao is well enough to walk, which he is, and decides to take him to the living room.

Yat-sen introduces Lao to Ai, his wife. The three talk when Lao notices the girl from earlier, peeking from behind a wall. Ai reveals that girl is their daughter, Ying. We see her slowly walk in and thanks Lao for saving her, but also apologizing for getting him in danger. Lao says that it's alright, it probably won't be the last time. They have some dialogue together where it's implied that Ying seems to have some sort of feelings for him, likely some sort of florence nightingale effect. Lao notices that she is holding something behind her back, which turns out to be his shirt. She fixed the holes that the leopard made, revealing that she is learning how to be a seamstress. Kung Lao tries to get up to leave, only to wince in pain. Yat-sen tells him he is no shape to leave and offers him food and lodging for the day. Not really having much of a choice, Lao accepts. We see him spend the day resting and bonding with the Chen family, especially Ying.

The following morning, Lao has recovered and makes his leave to return back to the Temple. Ying asks if he'll come back and visit sometime, Lao promising that he will.

The monk leaves the town and begins walking down the dirt road back to the temple. After walking for some minutes, he is suddenly approached from behind by two men. One is a bald guy, in an orange and red cloak with a silver staff. The other is an older man, with greying brown hair and goatee, clad in green robes with a gold trim. The latter introduces himself as Li Han and that the other guy is his associate, Daquan. Han asks Lao to help him retrieve a piece of a priceless crystal. Lao, who has a strange sense that the man cannot be trusted, says no and asks why Han can't retrieve it. He explains that there is a nearby swamp called the "Marshes of Yinying." At an altar in the very center of the marshes is where the piece lies. However, they have too much darkness in their hearts. Surrounding the entrance to the swamp is pool of thick, black mud. People like them who enter said mud will be sucked underneath, never to be seen again. Lao does not have much darkness in his heart, or at all, and thus he is the ideal candidate to retrieve it. Kung Lao refuses still, saying he will not trust or help two strange men that he just met. Daquan tries to entice Lao by offering him 5,000 yuan for the successful retrieval of the piece, but he still turns them down. Han admits that he thought he would refuse and that he will have to take drastic measures. He shows off one of his powers, mind persuasion. He can't fully control a person, but he can put them in a trance that make a person completely open to suggestion. While under this effect, Lao's eyes become a bit soulless looking. Han asks Lao once more to help, this time bumping the reward up to 20,000 yuan. He says that bringing such a thing home will make his monk brothers happy. Lao remains silent at first, before accepting Han's offer. The two mysterious men are quite glad and begin leading Lao to the marshes.

They arrive and we get a good shot of the place. There is gnarled, twisted looking trees blocking a proper view into the marshes. As mentioned before, there is a pool of black mud surrounding the entire swamp. Han takes a rock and throws a stone in the mud, which sinks almost instantly. Before sending Lao in, he decides to warn him of a few more things. Don't walk off the dirt paths he'll find, stay out of the marshes as much as possible. Watch out for the monsters that are rumored to live in the marshes. Finally, legends say that the marsh is famous for illusions. They take the form of people close to you, to try and trick you into wandering into the swamp or make them lost forever. That is all Han has to say and tells Lao to head on in. Kung Lao thanks Han for the advice and heads into the mud.

Lao wades through the mud, he must cross some distance before he can reach land again. Daquan notices that he is sinking a little and asks Han if he is sure Lao will make it to the other side. Han says that how far you sink in this cursed mud is based off how much darkness one has. If him or Daquan entered, they would likely sink in seconds. He wonders what exactly the darkness in Lao is from to make him barely sink, deciding to keep that in mind for the future. Lao finally makes it to the other side, easily pulling himself on to the dirty ground. Han yells out to him, reminding Lao that he'll find the piece in the altar in the center of the marshes. Lao begins heading into the swamp, as Han yells to remember not to stray from the path.

He makes his way through the dirty, confusing paths of the strange swampland. While traveling through the swamp, Lao will run into several different illusions. If the player pursues them, then one of three things will happen. They will find nothing, a forced battle with an enemy will occur, or you'll instantly die if it leads into certain parts of the swamp.

On his way through, Lao runs across two particular illusions that really get to him. The first, is him, Zhang, and Wu mourning the death of Jiao. This almost causes Lao to run off towards them, but he regains his composure and throws a rock at the illusion, which causes it to mysterious fade into mist. The second he encounters as he nears the center of the marshes. This one confuses Lao, as it seems to be an illusion...of the future! He sees both him and Liu Kang, only they seem to be young adults now. He hears illusion Kang yell at illusion Lao to snap out of it, only for illusion Lao to rush him. Lao grows concerned when he realizes that his illusion self seems to be trying to kill Liu Kang. He shakes his head and looks towards the illusion again, but now it is gone.

Kung Lao finally reaches the center of the marshes, where he finds the altar that Han mentioned. He finds a bronze pedestal with a small keyhole on one side. Before Lao can investigate any further, he is suddenly attacked by some sort of swamp monster that guards the altar. After narrowly defeating the monster, it dissipates and leaves a brass key behind. Lao picks up the key and uses it on pedestal's keyhole. After he turns it, the pedestal shakes and the top of it opens, revealing a piece of a red crystal. Lao can feel some sort of strange power flowing through it and is momentarily distracted by it, before he remembers his mission.

Meanwhile, Han and Daquan are just having some small talk as they wait for Kung Lao to return. They see Lao wading back through the mud, holding the crystal piece in his hand. Han congratulates him, saying he did better than they expected. Daquan hands Lao a sack holding the 20,000 yuan as Lao gives Han the crystal piece. The monk asks if there are anymore pieces. Han tells him that there are 4 pieces in total and that he'll seek out Lao again when he is needed again. He is prepared to leave, when Daquan reminds him that Lao is still under his spell. We get a close-up on Lao's soulless eyes as they return to normal. The monk shakes his head in confusion, looking around as we see that Han and Daquan are gone. All Lao recalls is agreeing to help that weird man get something, before he notices the reward that he is holding in his hand. Lao just decides to brush everything off and hurriedly makes his way back to the temple.

Kung Lao arrives at the temple gates. Zhang and Wu run up to him, having grown very concerned since Lao had been gone for about a day and a half. He shows them the reward and tells them about how he helped a man named Li Han. Wu grabs the sack and we learn that Wu knows about Han. He is a sorcerer that once trained alongside Wu at the academy, but was expelled due to violating the shaolin principles. Han promised that he would show that he could become a powerful warrior, without the shaolin holding him back. That was around 43 years ago and he hadn't heard a word about him until now. Wu tells Kung Lao to be wary around Li Han, which Lao says he will. The two then head over to the academy to resume their training.

**HAIBIAN**

**JULY 7TH, 1980**

Hai is having a smoke outside the front of the shop, as he waits for opening time. Suddenly, he notices a figure coming towards him. Once Hai realizes who the figure is, he tosses his cigarette and says that it is about time.

Some time later, we see Liu Kang arrive back at the pier after finishing his catch of the day. He drops the load on the pier and begins lifting the supplies into the boats. We see how efficient he has become at both fishing and loading the supplies. After he steps off the boat and waves the fishermen off, Hai calls out to him. Kang turns around and sees none other then Bo' Rai Cho standing alongside Hai. He tears up and runs to hug Cho, so happy to see him after 3 long years. Bo' Rai Cho laughs and says he is happy to see Kang, noticing how much he has grown since he last saw him. Cho patted him on the back and he joins Kang in helping load the boats for the rest of the day.

After closing, Cho and Kang sit on the pier together and have some fun talk. Eventually, Kang asks Cho why he had him work under Hai. Cho chuckles and is surprised that Kang hasn't realized it yet, which confuses Kang. Bo' Rai Cho has watched Kang all day and listened to Hai's tales of the last 3 years. Kang has changed, no longer the headstrong, reckless, impatient kid that he brought here. The art of fishing has helped teach him the beauty of patience and discipline. Kang admits that he hated fishing at first, but started loving it as he discovered how calm and relaxing it was. Cho then tries punching Kang, but he reacts fast enough to dodge it. He has also built up his reflexes and strength, valuable skills to both fishing and martial arts. He squeezes Kang's right arm and shows him the muscle he has built up over the years. Liu Kang is impressed that how all this work has improved him and thanks Bo' Rai Cho for everything. Cho tells Kang to pack his bags, they will be making their way to the Palace tomorrow.

The following morning, Kang walks in the main room of the shop with his bags in tow. He finds Hai and Bo' Rai Cho, passed out drunk. After a humorous sequence, Kang and Cho are ready to head out. Hai tears up and thanks Kang for all the help, deciding to give him his prized fishing pole as a gift. Liu Kang thanks Hai and promises him that he'll come and visit someday. They wave goodbye and are seen off by the villagers as they exit across the same hill that they used to enter the town, 3 years ago.

**IN A VAST VALLEY, SOMEWHERE IN THE MOUNTAINS OF CHINA**

**BO' RAI CHO'S PALACE**

**THREE WEEKS LATER…**

We find Liu Kang and Bo' Rai Cho navigate down a small path from the mountains, into the valley where his palace resides. Kang is impressed at the scope of the place and just how many people seem to reside here. Cho comments that he has many students, as well as a large staff to take care of the place. He mentions that this palace was built about 150 years ago and he's been using it to train Earthrealm warriors ever since.

Cho takes Kang to his quarters and helps him unpack. He then gives Kang a tour of the palace, ending at the training yard. There, Kang reunites with Gang and the two talk together. We learn that Cho did something similar with Gang, having him work at a mine for the last 3 years. Bo' Rai Cho decides as a test to have Gang and Liu Kang spar, which the two accept. In a surprising ending, the spar concludes with a double knockout. After Kang and Gang recover, Cho sounds the gongs and all the students in the yard gather forth.

He gives a proper introduction of Liu Kang and Gang to the students, who all give the two a warm welcome. There is still 12 years until the Mortal Kombat Tournament, so there is much training for them to do. Cho warns Liu Kang and Gang that his training regimen will be tough and once they start, there will be no turning back. When it's clear the two won't back down, Cho laughs and properly welcomes them to his palace.

He dismisses the other students and tells Gang to go to sensei Yong, he will teach him the art of Pao Chui. Gang bows to Cho before we see him run off to Yong, who takes him away. Liu Kang asks Cho who he will be learning under, Master Bo' Rai Cho saying he is going to personally train Liu Kang. He will learn the philosophy of Jeet Kune Do, a famous system founded by the legendary Bruce Lee. After watching Kang fight both in that spar and the Junior tournament, he felt this would be the best fit for Liu Kang's abilities.

We then get a little montage of Cho teaching Liu Kang the philosophy. We get the idea of how Bo' Rai Cho trains his students and see Liu Kang learn some familiar normals and combos from the games. Additionally, we also see Cho begin teaching Liu Kang in non-martial arts stuff, so that he is more than just a fighter. Maybe we'd see him teaching Kang art, music, how to speak, write and read English, etc. The two bond significantly during this time.

**BO' RAI CHO'S PALACE**

**2 YEARS LATER…**

The sun has set on yet another day of training at Bo' Rai Cho's palace. Cho dismisses all the student for the day, except for Liu Kang. Once the two of them are left alone, Kang asks why Cho wanted him to stay. The master tells Kang that he has progressed much further then he expected over these last two years. It is now only 10 years until the tournament, where the fate of Earthrealm will be decided. Liu Kang wonders to Cho if he is strong enough yet to win. Cho says that no, Liu Kang still is not ready. The main reason he told Liu Kang to stay was so he could some him two things. He sets up a training dummy up, with a crude picture of Shang Tsung attached to the face. Kang is curious as Cho backs up about 20 feet away from the dummy. All of a sudden, Cho dashes, shoots forward into the air, and kicks the dummy in the face. After landing, he shoots a mysterious energy attack and blows up the dummy into hundreds of pieces. Liu Kang is left in awe at this amazing display of power. Cho tells him that Chi is the life force and energy of one's spirit. This power of this mysterious force is integral to martial arts. If one masters their Chi, they can perform energy attacks like he did. Kang asks what the other move was and Cho tells him that was the Flying Kick. This uses one's Chi to zoom through the air with lighting speed and deliver a powerful kick to their opponent. The move was actually invented by Liu Kang's ancestor, the Great Kung Lao. This move was integral to him defeating Shang Tsung in the Mortal Kombat Tournament. He must learn both of these things, otherwise he might not stand a chance at the tournament. Liu Kang promises that he will not fail Cho and begins immediately practicing to try and learn these moves. Cho is surprised, pointing out that night is starting to get on and that he thought Kang would want some rest. Kang says that there is so little time, he need to spend every chance he can get to practice his skills. Cho smiles as he walks inside the palace and watches Kang from a window. He comments that he hasn't had a student like him since Shujinko. We learn a bit more about Liu Kang being, "The Chosen One". It was foreseen by the monks after the Great Kung Lao's defeat at the hands of Goro. That one day, a hero would come that will be strong enough to save Earthrealm and end Shao Kahn's power in Outworld. Cho wonders how true this prophecy is and if Kang will be able to fulfill it. Suddenly, one of the servants runs up to Bo' Rai Cho and hands him an urgent letter that just arrived. He begins reading the letter and we see his smile quickly fade away.

The following morning, we find Kang passed out asleep in the training yard when he is woken up by Bo' Rai Cho. He tells Liu Kang that he is coming with him, on an urgent mission. Before Kang can say anything, Cho puts him on a horse and the two start riding off.

As they head out of the valley, Kang asks Bo' Rai Cho what is so wrong that they had to leave in such a hurry. Cho hands Kang the letter to read as he explains. There is a village about a week's ride away called Damashi. He is quite famous in the town for training their citizens and taking some to train at the palace, something he has done for several decades. Damashi's elders have access to a tomb on the far outskirts of town, which houses a mysterious treasure. Nobody knows, Cho himself included, what exactly the treasure is anymore. All they know is they must guard it, which has gone relatively well for the last couple centuries. However, some sort of gang of bandits have been making attacks to try and steal the key to the tomb for 5 months now. The Elders are worried that they will soon succeed in getting the key and take the treasure. They have requested Bo' Rai Cho's help in dealing with the bandits and he decided to take Liu Kang along for a learning experience.

**THE VILLAGE OF DAMASHI**

**A WEEK OF TRAVELING LATER…**

The watchmen sit lazily in the guardhouse at the walled town of Damashi. One of them suddenly hears a loud bang at the gate, sounds like a wooden cane. The others instantly recognize who is at the gate just from that and they go to open the door. Bo' Rai Cho and Liu Kang ride into town, as the watchmen and villagers walk out to welcome them. Kang is surprised by just how popular Cho seems to be here as some kids run up beside them. They ask if Cho is here to train them again, but are disappointed when Cho replies that he is here on business. He introduces them to his new prodigy, Liu Kang. The kids bombard him with questions and Kang finds it a bit overwhelming, to Cho's amusement. Wang, from the _Deception _WP, also shows up and has a nice reunion with Cho. He tells Cho that the Elders are currently meeting in the town hall and escorts the two there.

Entering the town hall, Bo' Rai Cho and Liu Kang are lead into the Chambers of the Elders. There we meet and learn the names of the three Elders, Qiang, Chao, and Fang. After some greetings between the groups, Qiang tells them more about the bandits. These thugs all wear the same garb, dark green cloaks with gold trim. They have been trying to steal the key for several months now, thankfully to no avail. However, they have been getting closer and closer with each attempt. According to intel from their scouts, the bandits intend to make another shot at getting the key tomorrow night. Fang believes that Cho can deter the bandits, once and for all. Liu Kang, his curiosity bursting, asks the Elders if they know more about the treasure other then it exists and they have to guard it. Qiang and Fang deny any further knowledge, only for Chao to let it slip that there is something else. Bo' Rai Cho presses them on this and the Elders decide to elaborate, also deciding to show them where they have hidden the key. They take them over to a false floor, where a ladder leads underground. After walking down a long tunnel, they find a room that contains many knicknacks, including a large silver chest. Qiang opens the chest, revealing a small brass key. The Elders explain that while most of the information about the treasure has been lost to time, there is one other thing that they know about it. The treasure is actually one of four pieces to some artifact that can supposedly grand unbelievable power. Hence, the necessity of guarding it. Cho grows concerned as this could explain why the bandits have refused to give up, despite their repeated failures. He promises that him and Kang will get rid of those petty thieves once and for all. The Elders thank the duo and provide them with lodging during their stay. Damashi could be another little place for the player to explore, possibly find a few things that nod/foreshadowing to events in _Deception_'s story since this would take place well into Shujinko's adventure.

Long into the night, Liu Kang suddenly awakens to go use the bathroom. While Kang is walking to the bathroom, he casually glances out the window and notices some strange figures outside. He sneaks outside and watches the figures from behind a tree. Kang sees that there are about 8 of them and they are wearing the green cloaks with gold trims that Qiang had mentioned. He considers waking Cho, but dumb young Kang wants to show that he is a hero. Kang begins sneaking towards the figures, following them to the town hall.

The bandits broke into the town hall and reveal the ladder under the false floor. Kang enters and hides behind some furniture in one corner of the room. He overhears one of the bandits remark about how misleading the scouts was so easy, they'll get the key for sure this time. Before they can climb down the ladder, Chao appears. He's been secretly watching the hall and attacks the thugs. 5 of the bandits stay behind to fight, while the other 3 head down the ladder. Liu Kang watches as Chao kicks the butts of the thugs, showing off some impressive fighting skills. After defeating them, Chao is about to head down the ladder to take care of the remaining ones, when Chao is suddenly shot in the back by an energy blast from one of the bandits and is knocked down. Eventually, the other 3 bandits return with the key in hand and flee.

Once they have left, Liu Kang runs over to Chao and asks if he is okay. Chao tells Kang that he needs to follow the bandits and retrieve the key before it is too late. He falls unconscious in Kang's arms, who lays him down and promises that he will not fail them.

We then cut over to a small camp, on the outskirts of the city. The 8 bandits have just arrived and begin having a rowdy, fun discussion with one another. As this goes on, we see Liu Kang has been following them and is waiting behind a tree to strike. Suddenly a bell rings and Kang sees a bald guy, in an orange and red cloak with a silver staff, walk out of a large tent as the bandits bow to him. They are about to hand the key over to them, when Liu Kang makes his presence known. The bald guy introduces himself as Daquan to Kang and the two have some amusing back-and-forth. One of the more arrogant bandits mocks Liu Kang and challenges him to kombat. Kang defeats the bandit, surprising and upsetting the others. 3 of the bandits gather together to fight Kang, but they are also defeated. As another 3 gang up to fight him, we see another man emerges from the tent. It's Li Han, of course, who asks what is bothering his beauty sleep. Daquan points out the monk to him, Li Han immediately recognizing that he is the other one. He intensely watches Kang defeat the 3 bandits, impressing him greatly. The remaining bandit just cowers behind Li Han and Daquan, as Liu Kang approaches the two. Han tells Kang that he is very impressive, the Great Kung Lao bloodline runs strong within him. Kang is surprised, questioning how the man knows him. After introducing himself proper, Han tells Kang that he has been keeping notes on him and his cousin Lao for several years now. Liu Kang stammers before regaining his senses and demands that they hand him the key. Han chuckles and says he has a better idea, using his mind persuasion spell on Kang. He tells Kang that the treasure in the tomb is a piece of crystal, claiming that it is needed for them to save China. The only reason they tried to steal it was because the Elders would not hear their pleas, they just rejected them upon hearing that they wanted the treasure. He wants Liu Kang to take the key, explore the tomb, and recover the crystal. Han asked if Liu Kang will help them save China. Since he is under Han's spell, Liu Kang buys the story and agrees to help. Daquan hands him the key and gives him directions to the tomb. Kang heads off to the tomb as Daquan and Li Han begin discussing him. Han says that Liu Kang's skill is a league above Lao's and he should have no problem retrieving the piece. Daquan expresses a worry that while Lao and Kang are helpful now, they could be a threat in the future once they complete the crystal and the two discover the truth. He is confused when Han begins laughing, quietly at first and then wildly. Han just tells him that once the crystal is completed, no one will be able to go against him ever again.

Liu Kang finally reaches the tomb, located at the edge of a steep cliff that overlooks the countryside. He examines the aritcheture in the temple, noting that it seems as though the place was built around the 11th century. Kang eventually finds a small set of stairs, leading down to a small door. In the center of the door is a keyhole. He inserts the brass key into the keyhole and is surprised when the door itself suddenly disappears. On the other side is a long staircase leading deep underground into darkness. The torches on the walls also inexplicably light up one by one, even with the additional light Kang cannot see the bottom of the stairs. Arriving at the bottom, he is fascinated by what he sees. A large, cavernous room with stairs and passageways leading every which way. A massive, deep ravine with a river at the bottom divides the room in half. This would be a dungeon, obviously. Since it was primarily referred to as a tomb, the enemies could be several different undead creatures. Because of the ravine, maybe one of the major puzzles of the dungeon would be trying to reach and explore the other side.

Eventually, Liu Kang arrives at a strange room. There is a large pool of water that lets out into the ravine, at the center of it is a tall rock. A tremendous jet stream of water falls from the ceiling, blasting away at the rock. Liu Kang notices that a rope hangs from a stalgatice on the ceiling, leading directly to the top of the rock. Tied to the rope, is the crystal. Before Kang can investigate, he hears a loud roar. The room shakes as a large Oni Warlord bursts in from a concealed door. It begins attacking Kang, who struggles against the might of the Warlord. When Kang tries to just make a dash to the rock, the Warlord suddenly charges and knocks him away with his club. Kang realizes that this must be the guardian of the treasure and that it will stop at nothing to prevent him from getting it. Liu Kang gets tossed around by the Warlord and it seems like it is the end for him. As Kang waits to be finished he suddenly recalls his training from earlier. He believes that if he can do either the Flying Kick or Energy Blast, then he might be gain an edge against the Warlord. Kang tries them, but can't get either to work. The Warlord begins charging at Liu Kang for the final blow, as he desperately tries either attack. As the Warlord nears him, Kang shouts and shoots out a projectile. To Kang's surprise, it is not an energy blast. Instead, it is a ball of fire! The Warlord is knocked away by this unexpected attack, leaving Kang to marvel at this newfound power. He shoots another fireball at the Warlord and finds he can also charge his fists with fire. Thus, a proper boss fight against Warlord begins. Liu Kang would now access to his classic fireball attacks, maybe some sort of fire punch as well, which the Warlord would be critically weak too.

Liu Kang manages to finally defeat the Warlord, who stumbles back into the pool and is washed down into the ravine. Kang turns his attention back to the rock and tries to work out how to get the crystal. The jet stream is too strong for Kang to pass through and even if he could, the water would make the rock too slick to climb. Liu Kang gets the idea to shoot the rope with fire, but it just extinguished the moment it hits the jet stream. After several failed attempts, he remembers Bo' Rai Cho's words on how one must focus and master their Chi. He sits down and spends a long while meditating. Kang then stands up and focuses his energy into a massive fireball, that takes the shape of a dragon. It manages to shoot through the jet stream and cleanly burns the rope away. The crystal falls onto the rock and is washed into the water, Kang managing to retrieve it before it falls into the ravine. He does a little celebration before he begins making his way out of the tomb, exiting just as the sun begins to rise.

Back at the camp, Liu Kang arrives just as Daquan and Li Han wake up. He hands them the crystal and asks what now. Daquan then suddenly whacks Liu Kang in the head with his staff, knocking him out instantly. Li Han removes his spell on Kang and thanks the unconscious monk. That's half of the pieces collected, he just needs to figure out where the other two are. One of the bandits note that Bo' Rai Cho and the Elders are likely going to come and look for Kang, so Han tells everyone that they need to leave immediately. Daquan asks what they should do with Kang, Han just saying to leave him.

Hours later, Liu Kang awakens to Bo' Rai Cho and the words of the Elders. Cho tears up and hugs Kang, having been so worried about him. Kang learns from Cho that they discovered Chao this morning and learned from him about how he went out on his own to deal with the bandits. Cho berates Kang for doing something so reckless and dangerous, which Kang apologizes for. He looks around and wonders where the Li Han has gone, noticing that all signs of the camp are gone. The Elders ask if they got the crystal, Liu Kang sheepishly admitting that he retrieved it and gave it to them. Cho and the Elders are shocked, the former ranting at Kang for this. Liu Kang tells them that it is all a little fuzzy, but they convinced him that it was needed to save China. The Elders tell Kang that he was deceived and they become worried about what the bandits could use the crystal for. Cho remains in anger, until he sees Kang clearly being upset at disappointing them. He sits besides Kang and comforts him, saying that it is no big deal and that he is impressed at how he managed to get the crystal all by himself. Liu Kang thanks Cho for his words, telling him that he won't make this mistake again. Before heading back to town, Kang suddenly remembers and shows off his new fireball attacks to Cho and the Elders. Cho especially is surprised, thinking he has never seen such use of fire by a Earthrealmer before. He briefly muses that Liu Kang can't be human, before dismissing the notion as silly. Cho commends Kang on this new power, saying that he'll start training him in this power once they return to the palace. He puts his arm around Liu Kang and they begin walking back towards Damashi, while they have some humorous banter.

**WU SHI ACADEMY**

**NOVEMBER 21ST, 1985**

We find Kung Lao, Wu, and Zhang sitting inside as a rough snowfall goes on outside. The three are talking together when they are interrupted by a monk, who tells them to come to the Temple. Curious at what it could be, the three follow the monk over to the temple as we several other monks also heading inside. Upon entering the main hall, Lao sees an a man holding a baby. The man has thin, black hair, large muscles, and wears tattered monk robes that seem to be several years old. As Wu and Lao whisper as to who it could be, Zhang suddenly walks forward in awe. He simply says, "Shen." The man replies "Good to see you again, father." That's when Wu and Lao finally realize that the man is none other then Kung Shen, Zhang's only remaining child. Zhang hugs Shen and asks if the baby is who he thinks he is, with Shen telling Zhang to welcome his grandson, Jin.

We cut over the Wu's chambers where Lao, Wu, Zhang, Shen are talking. Kung Lao asks where Uncle Shen has been all these years and he decides to tell his whole story. If you'll recall, Shen left the temple in 1966 to go on a journey in search of spiritual enlightenment. He traveled all across Asia, meeting various people, training under great warriors, and learns more and more about the spiritual nature of the universe. In 1979, he made his way over to Southern Japan where he fell in love with a person named Natsumi Matsumoto. They married two years later and that's where he had been, up until now. Kung Jin, his son, was born approximately six months ago. Shortly after, Natsumi got in an unfortunate car accident that claimed her life. In her will, she wished for Shen to return to his home at the Temples and raise their son into a life of peace. Now, he has finally returned and intends to give Jin the upbringing that he once had. Lao notes that it seems odd he would have a child so late, bringing him up the heart condition that is father had told them about. At this, Shen pops one of his heart pills and explains that is the lucky thing. The 99% fatality rate with most dying before 40 stuff? Turns out that after multiple examinations from countless doctors, that Shen is going to fall into the 1% that survive. He asks Lao why he brought that up, only realizing it after Lao stomps out of the room. Wu and Zhang tell him about how his siblings, Jiao-Long and Lin, are both dead. Stunned speechless, Shen eventually tells them that he is going to talk to Lao and leaves Jin with the two.

Back at Lao's bedroom, we find him eyeing a picture of himself and Jiao from when he was little. Shen knocks at the door and Lao lets him in, but not before delivering a sneer at Shen which he quickly apologizes for. He takes a seat and grabs the photo that Lao was looking at, staring sadly at it. Shen begins telling stories about him, Jiao, and Lin from their youth. Lao doesn't like this at all, but he eventually finds himself entertained and laughing at the ludicrous tales. Shen tells Lao that his father and aunt were great people, before solemnly saying that he's sad he didn't get to see them one last time before they died. Lao notices how sad Shen seems to be, now feeling bad for his earlier behavior. He asks Shen if he knew about the heart condition before he left the Temple. Shen, seeing what Lao is getting at, admits that he did and was one of the prime reasons that he left on his journey. He knew that he possibly had only a couple decades left, so he wished to find a meaning in his life before his death. Shen has learned just how precious and valuable the time we have here, from both his journey and his marriage to Natsumi. He tells Lao that Jiao likely knew this as well. Lao mentions how his father rarely left his side and how much of a role he played during his early training. Shen remarks that his dad knew his time in the world was short, so he needed to be there for Lao as much as he could before he departed. Lao admits some jealously that Shen will survive the condition, while his own father did not. Shen pauses for a moment, before telling him that life can be cruel and unfair, but that's just the way it is sometimes. You can't change what has happened, all you can do is soldier on. He asks Lao if he'll help him with Jin, be sort of a big brother figure to his son. Lao smiles and tells him that he'll be there for Jin. The two stand and bow to each other, before leaving to join back up Zhang and Wu.

**TO BE CONTINUED IN PART III**


	15. WP: Shaolin Monks (Part 3)

We get a nice little montage of Kung Lao and Chen Ying bonding, falling in love, over the course of the past few years. Ying becomes someone that Lao can share his issues with, including the pressure he feels from trying to live up to the Great Kung Lao's legacy. During this, we also learn something else about Kang and Lao's training. This will come to a climax at the Shaolin Tournament. Only one monk can represent the shaolin at Mortal Kombat. Several months beforehand, the The 4 Shaolin Temples will send their 8 best warriors to the Wu Shi Academy, where a competition will be held to decide which one gets to compete in Mortal Kombat. This adds even more pressure to Lao, as it is possible that his lifetime of training could amount to nothing in the end.

**THE TOWN OF ZHU ZIN**

**JUNE 13TH, 1986**

Lao has arrived at the Chen house, to deliver another package. Yat-sen lets him in, Lao noticing that they seem to packing up Ying's stuff. Before he can ask anything, Ying runs down the stairs and embraces Lao. He wants to take her to lunch, only for Ying to tell Lao that she needs to talk to him about something important. Lao and Ying take a walk in the woods and we hear some endearing dialogue between the two. They eventually arrive at a large hill overlooking a river, apparently a popular spot for the lovers.

Suddenly, Ying gets very quiet. After a long awkward silence, Lao speaks up and asks if there is anything wrong. She reveals that there is something that he has been meaning to tell him for a couple months now, but she had been holding it back all this time. Lao asks if it has something to do with what he saw at her house and she says that it is.

As you'll recall, Ying was learning to be a seamstress and has lately been designing her own clothes.. She had sent in clothes she had made to various designers across China, hoping to get somewhere in the field. Ying received a letter about three months ago, offering her an apprenticeship at a famous fashion studio. Unfortunately, the apprenticeship requires her to move to Hong Kong. If she wants to advance her career, she will essentially have to move all the way across China, leaving her family and Kung Lao behind. Lao is shocked at this information, but remains silent as Ying addresses him. She wants Lao to come with her. Ying mentions how Lao always told her about how much pressure he carries, how he wishes he could just live a life of peace and how he doesn't want the life of a warrior. This could be his chance to finally escape from the life he hates and asks if he'll spend the rest of his days with her, putting her hand on Lao's shoulder.

Suddenly, Lao smiles and grabs Ying's hand. He thanks Ying for the offer, but has to respectfully decline. Ying asks why, Lao sits down on the hill and sighes. Lao tells her that if she had made that offer years ago, he would have taken it in a heartbeat. He might complain about it, but he realized long ago that he has a duty and that this life, while he might not want it, is a necessity. If no one fights and stands up to Outworld, then nobody will get to live the life of peace that he wants. Besides, he has made a promise that he would see this through to the end. While not said, it would be implied that the promise was the result of his father's death and the knowledge of Zhang's regret for his failures in the 1942 Mortal Kombat.

Though disappointed and saddened by Kung Lao's rejection, Ying respects his decision and the two agree to try and keep in touch once she moves. Ying asks if Lao will sit with her just a while longer, which he says yes to.

**BO' RAI CHO'S PALACE**

**MARCH 1ST, 1988**

The students of Cho, including Liu Kang and Gang, are practicing vigorously in the training yard. We are shown in a brief set of flashbacks that Liu Kang has spent the last 6 years, truly mastering his abilities and has gained expert control over his fire powers. The one thing he is still struggling with is the Flying Kick, he just can't seem to do it right. Gang walks over and asks what the problem is, with Liu Kang saying he just can't wrap his head around how it works. Suddenly, they hear Bo' Rai Cho say that how the logistics are unnecessary. One uses their chi and muscles to quickly leap off the ground and fly forward, Cho demonstrating the Flying Kick once more on a dummy. He tells Kang that it's that simple, he just needs to do it. Kang tries it again, but fails. Cho says he'll eventually get the hang of it, before asking Kang and Gang to come with him.

In his study, Cho hands the two a flyer. It's a promotion for the "26th Annual Asia Martial Arts Competition." Cho tells them that he has entered the two in the tournament. The best fighters from all across the continent will be there to compete, so this will be a good way to test the skills they've built up over the last 11 years. Kang and Gang are excited to show off their abilities, this being the first martial arts competition since the Junior/Youth Shaolin tournament. Cho is pleased at their excitement and tells them the competition will be held in Japan, 2 months from now. While Gang and Cho begin discussing the tournament, Liu Kang heads out. The two ask where he is going, Kang replying that there is one thing he needs to do before the competition.

Later that night, Cho and Gang are heading to bed when they spot Liu Kang meditating in the training yard. Kang is sitting at one of the dummies and he seems to be in intense focus. We see a few flashbacks of him trying the Flying Kick over the years, capping off with Bo' Rai Cho's earlier words. Suddenly, Kang stands up and gets into a fighting stance. Liu Kang shouts and finally pulls off the Flying Kick, shattering the dummy into pieces. Gang is impressed, while Cho remarks that he has learned it rather quickly. He tells Gang that it took almost all of the Great Kung Lao's life to create the move, it took 20 years to learn the move himself. Liu Kang begins practicing the move again, Cho noting that now it is almost second nature to him. Cho and Gang head off, leaving Kang to celebrate his brand new move. This would naturally add the Flying Kick to Liu Kang's in-game techniques, possibly being one of the best moves in the game.

**TOKYO, JAPAN**

**2 MONTHS LATER…**

Cho welcomes the two to Japan, as they wander outside the Airport. Liu Kang is especially in awe looking at the foreign city, since this is the first time he has ever left China. The three head to a hotel, as Kang takes in the sights. We get a nice little bonding moment between the group, before they head off to the stadium.

The three arrive, to see around a thousand other martial artists heading into the stadium. They make their way inside, Kang and Gang checking in with some of the competition's officials. Heading inside to the arena, they attend the Opening Ceremony. While listening to the speech, we see various martial artists of varying appearance from all across Asia. Maybe even have some of them resemble the generic kombatants from _MK1_. We learn the tournament structure will consist of 5 preliminary rounds, the Top 32 will advance to the main tournament. The winner of the competition will receive a nice gold trophy and a cash prize of 1,000,000 yen. The announcer wishes the contestants good luck, as he says they can check the seeded preliminaries in the lobby.

Kang and Gang walk towards the lobby, noticing that Bo' Rai Cho seems to have disappeared. They look at the preliminary brackets, noticing that the two will be in separate blocks. Before the two can talk anymore, a referee calls for Liu Kang so that they may begin his match. Kang and Gang bow to each other, promising to meet each other again at the end of the preliminaries.

The preliminary rounds would consist of pretty simple matches, from a gameplay stance. In between matches, the player would be able to walk around the stadium and heal. Not much else to say about the preliminary part of the tournament.

After winning the 5th match, Liu Kang heads over to where Gang's block is being held just in time to witness him win his match. The two celebrate their advancement to the main tournament and head outside, when they see a crowd gathered around. Making their way through, they find two fighters sparring one another. Kang asks one of the people in the crowd who they are, replying that the two are Song-hun of South Korea and Gamon of Thailand. Another person in the crowd chimes in, saying the two are masters of Tang Soo Do and Muay Thai respectively. The first guy also comments that they are the favorites for winning the competition. Kang and Gang watch the spar for a while with the crowd. Gamon lands a Curving Knee Strike against Song, who falls down to the ground. He is helped up by Gamon and the two bow to each other, to the cheers of the crowd. As Liu Kang and Gang make their way back to the hotel, they discuss the spar and note the two seemed to be pretty good.

They arrive at the hotel, growing concerned as Bo' Rai Cho isn't there either. It isn't until late into the night, when they were fast asleep, that Cho clumsily saunters in the room. They ask where he has been, but Cho just tells him that he can't say now as he hurls himself onto his bed. Kang and Gang wonder what he could have been doing, questioning if Cho has any history here in Japan.

A few days later, the main tournament begins. The setup would be similar to the preliminary rounds, but the fight introductions would be more extravagant and the setting would be in the actual stadium with a large crowd. Like the preliminaries, the player would be able to walk around the stadium between fights and heal up.

After the Quarter-Final match, we get a small montage of Gang, Song, and Gamon winning their respective matches. The Semi-Finals will be Liu Kang vs. Gamon and Gang vs. Song-hun. Kang and Gang decide to properly introduce themselves to the two, meeting up with them in the lobby. While Song brushes this off, Gamon welcomes them in open arms. We get an idea of how he is a big, fun sport and he praises the two for their performance. He reveals that him and Song have been rivals since they were kids. Apparently, the two are so well known that their rivalry is famous and promoted throughout Southeast Asia. Gamon seems a little miffed when Liu Kang and Gang mention they have never heard of him before, but that's interrupted when Song starts talking to them. He admits that Kang and Gang are decent, asking if they have ever fought against people with their fighting styles before. When told that they haven't and tell him their styles, he tells them about the advantages and disadvantages some styles have against others. He says that they should think about it and how they will counter disadvantages, before leaving. Kang and Gang think that was weird, but Gamon says that Song just wants them to fight at their best. Back in South Korea, Song is actually an instructor at his father's dojo. Gamon looks at the clock and says he has to go, telling the two that he can't wait for their fights in the Semi. Liu Kang and Gang return to the hotel, once again seeing that Cho is not there. As they head to sleep, the two discuss Bo' Rai Cho and his sometimes "strange" behavior. They are interrupted with Bo' Rai Cho's return, noticing that he is carrying a key card. Liu Kang asks why he has that, but Cho just says it's private. He once again heads to bed without saying anything else, making Kang suspicious.

The day of the Semi-Finals arrive, the stadium is absolutely packed as Liu Kang, Gang, and Cho arrive. This time, Cho is staying around which the two are happy that he is actually going to watch them. They ask Cho what he thinks of Song and Gamon. He tells them that they are decent, but the two should be able to handle them just fine. Liu Kang questions this, since Cho hasn't seen either of them fight. Cho asks if the two seriously thought that he didn't catch up on the tournament after his business, but doesn't get an answer as an official calls for Liu Kang to come to the arena for his match.

Liu Kang and Gamon enter the arena, to the cheers and roars of the audience. After the introductions, the fight begins. This battle would be the start of a difficulty jump in the game, since we are nearing the end. All of Gamon's moves would be based around real-life Muay Thai moves, with some added MK flair. Since Muay Thai relies heavily on kicks, those kind of moves would be very damaging and possibly have a high critical rate.

Naturally, Liu Kang emerges the victor and advances to the Finals. He helps Gamon get on his feet and the two walk out of the arena together. Gamon thanks Kang for the fight and wishes him luck in winning the tournament. Liu Kang says that Gang's match will start in about an hour and asks if he'll stick around. Gamon unfortunately cannot, he needs to head back to his hotel and pack up to return to Thailand. There is a big Muay Thai competition coming up in a few months, so he has to be heading home soon to practice. The two wave goodbye as Bo' Rai Cho suddenly walks up to Kang. He says Gang is currently doing a bit of practice and they have some time before his match, so the two sit down and talk. Cho asks Kang if he'd rather fight Song or Gang in the final match, which Kang responds to by saying he isn't sure. Both are rather great at their styles, wondering which one will win their match. They talk for a long while, their conversation eventually turning to the Mortal Kombat Tournament, Liu Kang musing about how it is now only 4 years away. Cho wonders if Lao or Kang will compete, which catches Liu Kang off guard. Before he can ask what Cho means by that, they overhear that Gang's match is about to begin.

Similar to how the player took control of Kai at the Junior tournament, the player would play as Gang for the fight against Song-hun. As mentioned in Part II, Gang was being taught Pao Chu so his moves and stats would be based around that style. Song-hun would be based around Tang Soo Do, using the Kusanku kata.

After a narrow and rough fight, Gang emerges the victor. Song gets on his feet and bows to Gang, who bows in return. The announcer walks up and comments on the vicious fight, before saying that the final match will be Liu Kang vs. Gang. He then hands the microphone to Gang, asking if he has any words. Gang takes it and tells Liu Kang to prepare himself. He defeated his brother so many years ago, now he'll return the favor! Kang just nods in response as the crowd stare and cheer at the two.

We cut to Cho and Gang back in the hotel, sitting around and Gang talking about how he has to fight Liu Kang for the first time since that spar. After discussing it, Cho asks Gang where Liu Kang is. Gang tells him that Kang wanted to walk around for a bit, which concerns Cho as he hopes that he won't get into any trouble.

Liu Kang is wandering through Tokyo, taking in the sights. He is just in wonder as he had never been in a big city before. Unfortunately, Liu Kang ends up blundering into a seedy part of the city. Before he can make his way out, he suddenly hears two people discussing him. He turns around and sees the green cloaked bandits from 6 years ago, who quickly run down into a lane. Kang chases them, eventually following them to an abandoned warehouse. He enters and find the two, standing in the center of the warehouse. Liu Kang approaches, ready to rough them up, asking where Li Han and Daquan is. The two refuse to tell and fight Kang, getting easily beaten. Kang kneels down and searches the two, hoping to find a clue to their whereabouts. All of a sudden, a group of bandits emerges from behind but Kang luckily notices them and faces to fight. However, while Kang was distracted by them, another bandit snuck up and whacks him onto the ground with a lead pipe. After Kang regains his senses, he looks up to see Li Han casting some sort of spell…

Cut back to the hotel, late at night. Liu Kang sneaks inside, reaches into Bo' Rai Cho's pocket and knicks the key card that we saw earlier. Cho is suddenly awakened by Kang slamming their door shut, Gang yelling at what that sound was. Noticing the card is missing, Cho says that he has to go somewhere and tells Gang to stay here.

We arrive at the Riken facility, the same place that appeared in _Special Forces_. Liu Kang is seen climbing the fence surrounding the buildings and uses the key card to enter the East Wing. After sneaking past some guards, Kang find the elevator to the secret underground labs of the facility. This would naturally be the next major area of the game, Liu Kang needing to find key cards and activate switches to advance further into the underground labs.

Eventually, Liu Kang finds a vault guarded by several doors. He uses the various key cards he has collected to open all the doors and we see what was being held inside the vault. One of the crystal pieces, guarded by lasers and a high-strength glass case. Before Kang can figure out how to get the crystal, a voice shouts at him to stop. It is none other than Bo' Rai Cho, whom Liu Kang is surprised to see.

We then learn about what Bo' Rai Cho had been secretly doing all this time. He had been researching the crystal pieces, ever since Liu Kang "helped" Li Han retrieve one 6 years ago. Cho learned that one of them had been discovered at Mt. Fuji, where it was brought to Riken for study and research. He arrived to the facility, apparently being good friends with the head of the place, and informed them about Li Han and his gang of goons. This is the reason the crystal piece was placed under such high security. Cho was also granted access to the facility, hence him having the key card. He reminds Kang of his promise, that he wouldn't make this same mistake again. Liu Kang says that he isn't, that Li Han needs this crystal, as it is an important family treasure. Cho just shouts that Han is manipulating him, he does not know how, but he can tell that Liu Kang isn't exactly himself right now. Kang seems to have some sort of reaction, but he just ignores it and tells Cho that he won't let him stop him from completing his mission. Cho sighes and challenges Liu Kang to kombat, who accepts.

The two battle to a stalemate, Cho pointing out that Liu Kang will lose if this battle goes on for any longer and tells him to just surrender. Kang charges at Cho, who just easily knocks him out with his cane. He is prepared to pick up Kang and leave, when he suddenly hears a strange laugh. Into the vault walks, Li Han, Daquan, and several bandits. Han congratulates Kang on clearing the way for them, now they can acquire the crystal in peace. Cho sits Kang on the ground, proclaiming that he will not let Han take it. He questions what he has done to Kang, but Han just states that is none of his business as he lifts Kang from his spell. Han attempts to use his mind persuasion powers on Bo' Rai Cho, but he actually manages to shake it off through his strong chi and will power. This actually unnerves Han, who sends Daquan and the bandits to attack Cho. Bo' Rai Cho manages to hold up on his own for a bit, but ultimately gets overwhelmed and knocked out. Han laughs, asking if this is all the "Master" Cho has to offer. Daquan smashes the glass with his staff, and Han grabs the crystal piece. Him and the bandits leave the vault, but not before Han throws something to trigger the laser security. The doors shut shortly afterwards, leaving Liu Kang and Bo' Rai Cho trapped in the vault.

Sometime later, Kang regains consciousness and panics when he sees Cho lying on the floor. He manages to wake Cho, who simply asks Kang how he feels. Suddenly, Liu Kang notices exactly where they are and tells Cho that his memory is very fuzzy for some reason. Cho tells him that Li Han had been manipulating him through some sort of mind suggestion power, that's how he ended up here and why he helped Han, 6 years ago. Liu Kang apologizes that he wasn't able to keep his promise from then, but Cho tells him not to worry about it. The two have a nice, fun conversation to one another once they realize they are trapped in here.

Eventually, after what seems like forever, the vault doors open. Several guards and scientists run inside, seeing that the crystal has been stolen. The director of Riken asks Cho what happened and he explains. While the two talk, Liu Kang asks one of the guards how long they have been in there. The guard says it's been about 2 days. They needed the director to open the vault, since that is required if the security system is triggered. He was away on business, hence the delay. Hearing this, Cho questions what time is. When the guard says it is a quarter until noon, Cho grabs Liu Kang and runs off. They only have a couple minutes until the final match of the tournament, so they need to get there or else Kang will be disqualified.

At the arena, the final match is about to begin. The crowd is in uproar, excited for a battle that will no doubt be a spectacular end to the competition. The announcer introduces Gang, who is nearly deafened by the cheers. The announcer turns to introduce Liu Kang, only to see nobody there. The audience's cheers turn to confusion, with Gang wondering where Kang and Cho have been. He hasn't seen them in about 2 days and nobody he has questioned around town has spotted the two. The announcer sheepishly chuckles, saying that if Kang doesn't show up then Gang will win by default.

Several minutes later, Kang still hasn't arrived. The announcer just shrugs and prepares to announce Gang as the winner, when Liu Kang finally runs into the arena. He grabs the announcer's microphone, bowing and apologizing for his tardiness. Gang questions where Liu Kang has been, who just replies that it's a long story. The announcer grabs the microphone back and gives a proper introduction to Kang, before quickly starting the fight. Liu Kang and Gang take their fighting stances and begin circling around the arena. We Cho has taken a seat in the audience, his thoughts running as he hopes the two will show their best. Suddenly, Song and Gamon sit next to him and introduces themselves to Cho.

It's a long fight, in which Liu Kang emerges as the victor. The crowd bursts into cheers as Announcer loudly boasts the Liu Kang is the champion. Gang stands up and congratulates him on his victory. Looks like him and his brother are no match for him. Kang and Gang bow to each other, as Gang tells Kang that they will fight again at the Shaolin Tournament, which Kang says he can't wait for. Liu Kang is handed the trophy and a check for 1,000,000 yen. Kang bows to the audience as their cheers continue. Gamon and Song comment on Liu Kang and Gang's abilities, while Cho says that they outperformed his expectations. He wonders how the two will perform in the Shaolin Tournament, saying maybe he should step up their training even more. We zoom out of the stadium, to roars of the crowd.

**SHAOLIN TEMPLE**

**SEPTEMBER 30TH, 1990**

It is sunset on another day at the temple. We find Kung Lao walking to his bedroom, when some shaolin kids walk up to him. They bombard him with various questions, it's obvious that they idolize Lao. Kung Lao answers as well as he could, before he quickly retreats to his room.

He plops himself on his bed, remarking that training was rough today. We get a nice shot of his room, seeing a lot of gifts from the shaolin kids. Including drawings, one of him standing victorious over a beaten Goro. We see that Lao appreciates all this and it makes him feel better about all this, but also gives him a lot of additional pressure to succeed or he will disappoint the kids and lose the emotional support. Additionally, we see that him and Ying have been keeping in touch via letters. Lao is prepared to go to sleep until he hears a knock at the door.

In walks Kung Jin, who is now 5 years old. He wants to just talk to Lao and we learn that Lao has been following Shen's request, act as a big brother to Jin. The two seem to be very close as we hear just a fun, little personal talk between them. Jin hands Lao a drawing he made of him, which depicts Lao standing over the bodies of Goro and Shang Tsung with the Great Kung Lao's spirit floating above, congratulating him for saving Earthrealm. Lao smiles at this and pats Jin on the head, before hanging the picture above his bed. Jin is about to leave when Lao tells him to go to bed early. He's gonna take him to Zhu Zin for the first time, early tomorrow morning. Kung Jin is excited about getting to hang out with his cousin and runs off in joy.

At the crack of dawn, Kung Lao heads over to Jin and Shen's bedroom. He wakes Jin up, noticing that Shen is already gone. Peering out the window, he sees Shen smoking a pipe on the steps leading to the garden. Lao tells Jin to get dressed as he goes out to see him.

Kung Lao greets Shen as he comes and sits down beside him. The two have a talk and we are given an idea of how, despite Lao's apprehension towards him when he first showed up, Shen has become sort of a new father figure to Lao. Lao notes the Mortal Kombat Tournament is just a little over 2 years away. Shen asks if he's feeling the pressure building up, but Lao says he's not just feeling pressured, but also nervous. He isn't confident if he'll be able to beat Goro or even reach him, or even win the right to represent the shaolin. Shen says not to worry about it right now, 2 years is still a long way away. Just focus on his training now and that he'll help him along so that he has the strength and confidence he needs to achieve victory in Mortal Kombat. Jin then arrives, Lao thanking Shen for his words as the two head out to Zhu Zin.

Jin could maybe be a temporary party member during the player's travel to Zhu Zin. He might be like Picky in _EarthBound_. He can fight, but is extremely weak since he is, well, a five year old.

Arriving at Zhu Zin, Lao takes Jin for a tour and the place actually becomes another explorable location for the player to look around.

Eventually, Lao and Jin head to the Trading Post managed by Baron Jiang. We learn that Lao is well known and liked around Zhu Zin, due to his frequent visits over the last 10 years. While walking around and purchasing wares, Jiang walks up to Lao and asks to speak in private. Lao and Jin are taken to his office, escorted by several of Jiang's bodyguards. Once they arrive, Jiang opens a drawer in his desk, pulls out a small burlap sack, and tosses it on the desk. Lao asks what's inside, so Jiang opens and removes a red crystal. Kung Lao recognizes it as another piece of the crystal that Li Han had him retrieve, 10 years ago. He asks where Jiang got it, so he explains that he found it in the basement of the Trading Post, hidden in a small trap door. It took him forever to unlock the small chest it was placed in, so he figured whatever this is it must be important. A few weeks ago, three bandits in green cloaks tried to steal it, but they were repelled by his bodyguards. He sent a letter to Omegis, a strange sorceress the lives in the forest surrounding the town, asking if she knew about the crystal. Jiang received a letter from Omegis, telling him to urgently bring the crystal to her...so she can destroy it. He wants Kung Lao to take the crystal to her, as he trusts him to make the journey and believes he can deal with any bandits that try to approach to steal it. Lao agrees to help, Jiang giving him a map to Omegis's home. Jin wants to go with, but Lao says it is too dangerous and tells him to stay with Jiang while he goes. Although Jin is upset at first, he reluctantly accepts this and tells Lao to please come back safely.

Kung Lao follows the map, making his way through the dense forests of Zhu Zin. Along the way, he might fight bandits as encounterable enemies, especially as he gets closer to Omegis. Lao wonders if these bandits have any ties to Li Han, since their cloaks match awfully close to his outfit.

He finally arrives at what he believes is Omegis's home, a very old, yet quaint looking shack. Before Lao can enter, he is suddenly attacked by 4 masked bodyguards with sais. He manages to defeat them, after which he hears a voice say "Now this seems to be a familiar situation." Lao turns to see a beautiful woman, in ruby red robes and holding a large wooden staff. He asks if she is Omegis, but she just asks if he has brought the crystal. Lao nods yes, so she gives a gesture for Lao to follow her inside.

Kung Lao looks around the shack, seeing various herbs and medicines that a healer might use and a large cauldron in the center of the main room. Omegis asks Lao to hand her the crystal, but Kung Lao demands answers. Who is she and what exactly are these crystals? She tells him that this is one of four parts to a mystical artifact called the Jinsei Ruby. It was a crystal that not only could enhance one's abilites, but it also has the strange power to open interrealm portals. The Great Kung Lao came in possession of the ruby and eventually decided it was too dangerous to keep around, lest it falls into the hands of his enemies. He did not have the power to completely destroy it, so he broke into 4 pieces and kept one by his side. He then took the other 3 and where exactly he took them is unknown. Lao is surprised by this, never hearing this story about his ancestor. Omegis tells him that he kept the existence of the ruby to only his closest allies and he never told the monks about it. Lao asks about how Omegis knows all this and she reveals that she knew his ancestor. Naturally, Lao is incredulous as this claim until she shows him a letter. Kung Lao looks it over and notices that this matches the handwriting of the Great Kung Lao from their ancient scrolls, to every minute detail. Omegis tells Lao that she has lived for many a century and has seen Zhu Zin grow from a small outpost, to a bustling town. She once helped his ancestor with something and became a good ally of his. Kung Lao is taken aback by all this knowledge, never having thought that he would learn something new about his ancestor. Omegis then reminds him of the crystal, telling Lao that she now has enough power to destroy a piece. With this one destroyed, it doesn't matter if someone finds the other 3. They will only get the ruby's power if they have and rejoin all 4. Before she can do anything, Li Han, Daquan, and his goons knock down the door to Omegis's shack. Han thanks Lao for taking care of the guards and for easily delivering the crystal piece to them. As Lao and Han stare each other down, Omegis suddenly laughs and asks Han if that is actually all he thought she had. She reaches inside her cloak and pulls out some sort of ceremonial horn that she blows into. All of a sudden, over 15 more bodyguards show up and surround the place. Omegis roundhouse kicks one of the goons and a fight breaks out. Lao tackles Daquan out of the shack and the two fight. After defeating Daquan, Lao asks why he follows Li Han. Daquan cryptically says that he came to him in a time of need and because of that, he owes him his life. Before Lao can press him further, he falls unconscious. Kung Lao heads back inside the shack to find Omegis fighting Li Han. He defeats her and turns to Lao, asking him if he'll hand over the piece quietly. Lao instead questions him, saying he doesn't appear to be the same man he kindly helped so many years ago. Han just laughs and tells Lao that he is an idiot before using his mind persuasion spell on Lao again. He tells Lao to hand him the crystal, that he can't trust Omegis and that he will destroy it. Omegis yells to Lao not to listen to him, he is lying. Lao takes the crystal from the sack and begins walking towards Han, clearly conflicted all the way as Omegis calls him to no avail. Once he gets close, Han just punches him in the gut and takes the crystal. He then takes a jar from a shelf and smashes it over Lao's head, knocking him out.

Some time later, Lao wakes up surrounded by Omegis and her bodyguards. He panics and asks where the crystal is, Omegis having to sadly tell him that Han took it. She also notes that he was under a spell, but she was able to get rid of through her potions. Lao wonders what she is talking about, Omegis revealing the truth behind Han's spell. Kung Lao realizes that it must be how Han got him to help get the first crystal, which shocks Omegis as this means that he has at least half the crystals now. Lao apologizes for failing her, but Omegis just tells him to not worry about it and tends to his wounds. Afterwards, Kung Lao bids Omegis and her bodyguards goodbye, making his way back to Zhu Zin.

Meanwhile, at a mansion hidden in the Tibet Mountains, we find Han gloating about how he now has all 4 pieces of the Jinsei Ruby. Daquan is ecstatic, now they can achieve ultimate power. Unfortunately, as Li Han notes, it is not that simple. One cannot simply stick the four pieces together with super glue. They need a lot of power, magic, and time to restore the ruby to its original glory. It might take a couple of years, but soon the world will be theirs!

We cut back to Kung Lao and Jin, walking down a dirt road just after the sun has set. Jin is concerned, as Lao didn't say a word when he returned to the Trading Post and still hasn't said anything. He asks Lao what exactly happened with Omegis, but he still refuses to say anything until Jin starts crying. Feeling sorry, Lao tells him a brief summary of what happened. Jin apologizes, that this must all be upsetting for Kung Lao. Lao just sighs and pats Jin on the head, just saying it's just how life goes sometimes. As they approach the temple, they hear a loud commition and witness a blue-clad ninja flee from the place. They rush inside the temple and run into Zhang and Shen. The former tells the two that the place is in uproar and dishevel as a Lin Kuei assassin infiltrated the place. Lao asks what he did, one of the other monks running around stops and tells them that he saw him head towards the "secret room." Realizing what this means, Zhang goes off to check on it with Shen, Lao, and Jin tagging along.

Lao remarks that he didn't know they had some sort of secret room, which Zhang responds by telling that only Master Wu, the elder monks, and himself know about the sacred place. He opens a false wall and leads them to the gates of the sacred room. Opening the gates, they are stunned by what they see. Wu lies unconscious on the ground, which is shocking but nothing compared to what is nearby. A ninja clad in yellow, with his decapitated head lying near him. This shocks Jin so much that he flees in terror, Shen going after him to calm him down. Zhang and Lao head in the room, helping Wu regain his senses. Not listening to their words, Wu asks if the map is safe and points to a pedestal at the other end of the room. Zhang looks and sees nothing there, Wu sighing as he says that the assassin has stolen it. Lao asks what this is all about. Zhang is about to speak, until Wu interrupts by telling him it was just a map to some old shaolin artifacts and that it is of no concern to him. Wu gives Zhang a look, who then reiterates what he said to Lao. Kung Lao doesn't really buy it, but decides to just accept their answers as it is clear that they do not want to, or can't, tell him the truth. He turns their attention to the guy in yellow, which Wu says is a member of a Japanese ninja clan, the Shirai Ryu, based on his uniform's markings. He guesses that the Lin Kuei assassin killed him, likely because of the fierce rivalry between their clans. Zhang says they can't just leave him there, so the three take the body and give him a decent burial in their graveyard. Jin and Shen show up, Lao comforting Jin over what he saw earlier. Kung Jin asks why anyone would do such a thing to a person, Lao simply shaking his head and saying that they may never know.

**TO BE CONCLUDED IN PART IV**


	16. WP: Shaolin Monks (Part 4)

**WU SHI ACADEMY**

**APRIL 7TH, 1992**

The Academy is buzzing with excitement and crowded with students. Tomorrow is the opening day of the Shaolin Tournament, to determine who will represent them in Mortal Kombat. The North, East, and West Temples have sent their 8 best warriors to compete and we get to see many different monks arrive and be greeted by Wu and Zhang. Chan is also seen during this, the first time we've seen him in about 15 years. Shen is looking out for arriving monks at the gates, while Lao and Jin are talking to each other. Suddenly, Shen notices a figure coming over the hill in the distance and calls out to Zhang and Wu. Hearing this, Lao and Jin also run over to see who it is. It's a man wearing a conical hat, a black and white tangzhuang, black martial arts pants, and black shoes with white socks. He is walking with a large wooden staff and is just making his way ever so quietly to the academy gates. The five monks start approaching the man, Lao asking who he is. The man stops and chuckles, asking if Lao doesn't recognize him after all these years. Suddenly, Bo' Rai Cho and Hai come over the hill riding on horses. The man takes off his hat, revealing himself to, of course, be Liu Kang. Kung Lao, so shocked and happy to see his cousin after nearly 15 years, actually tears up and hugs Kang. Zhang bows to Kang, remarking that is great to finally see his grandson again. He notes how much Kang has grown up and the group have a hearty laugh. Liu Kang wants to talk to Lao, as he wishes to catch up on the last decade and a half. The two head off, while the others go to welcome Cho and Hai.

We cut to later that evening, where Bo' Rai Cho and Jin are walking down the hallway to Lao's bedroom. Jin asks about Liu Kang, since he hasn't been really told much about him other then he went to train with Cho in '77 and that he is another cousin of his. Cho recaps the story so far, except for the Lao-only segments since that wouldn't make any sense, so Jin can get a good idea of who Liu Kang is and what he has been doing. The two knock and enter Lao's bedroom, where they find Kang and Lao in the middle of a fun conversation. They have been catching up on their lives and Kang says it is just great to finally return to the Wu Shi Academy and Temple he grew up in. After he notices Jin, he extends his hand and properly greets his young cousin. The two shake hands and Cho laughs as he says it's great to have a nice family reunion after so long. After the four have a nice chat, Cho and Jin leave for the night.

Liu Kang is about to head out too, but then he remembers something. He sits back down and asks Lao if he has heard from Kai at all over the last 15 years. Suddenly, Lao's smile fades away which makes Kang worried. He walks over to a drawer, grabs a ripped open envelope, which he then hands to him. Kang notices the letter is from Kai and Huang, addressed from the Netherlands. Lao says that the two had been keeping in contact with the monks, ever since they left on their training journey. Every 3-6 months, they would receive the letter and a package with souvenirs. Liu Kang asks what the problem is, Lao revealing the letter that Kang is holding was sent here 3 years ago. Not only that, it was the last of anything they received from Kai and Huang. Kang wonders what could have happened to them, Lao just saying they can only pray for their safety. He then changes the subject and manages to get Kang back to higher spirits. Eventually, Kang notices the time and bids Lao goodnight.

A couple minutes after he leaves, Zhang arrives with a large box. It's the box containing the Great Kung Lao's headband and gauntlets, that he had previously showed Lao back in 1975. He feels it is finally time that Lao inherits these family treasures and asks if Lao will accept them. Lao says he will and places the box under his bed, saying that he will save them for the Mortal Kombat Tournament. Zhang is glad to see Lao seems to have some confidence now, placing his hand on Lao's shoulder as he tells him how proud he is. He leaves and Lao sits on his bed, we hear him remark that he hopes that he will not disappoint Zhang and his father.

The morning of the next day, the monks are making their way to the Academy for the opening ceremony. As Lao is preparing, a monk enters his bedroom and hands him a package addressed from Hong Kong. Kung Lao takes it and opens it, finding an outfit and a letter. He reads the letter, which is heartfelt message from Chen Ying. We learn that Lao had sent sketches to Ying, asking her to design him a new martial arts outfit. Ying and her new friends have finally created something, based off his designs with some of their own stuff thrown in. We cut away as Lao starts to put the outfit on.

At the Courtyard of the Wu Shi Academy, we find most of the warrior monks, including Chan and Gang, gathered together for the opening ceremony. Wu asks Zhang if everyone is here, the latter replying that Liu Kang and Kung Lao have still not arrived. In the audience, Cho, Shen, and Jin wonder where the two are. Cho hopes they aren't getting cold feet, when the east doors fly open.

Out of the east door, walks Kung Lao. Proudly wearing his hat and it's revealed that the outfit he received from Ying is actually his _MK2_ attire. He removes his hat, bowing to the other warriors and audience as he makes his way to the front of the crowd. His grand arrival is interrupted as the west doors open up.

Out of the west door, walks Liu Kang. He is now dressed in his _MK1_ appearance and bows to everyone like Lao, before doing his victory pose from that game just for fun.

Wu sits down with Zhang and the elders as they ring the gong to gain everyone's attention. He greets the warriors, thanking them for making the journey here to this sacred academy. The Mortal Kombat Tournament starts in exactly 6 months, a tournament that will extremely important to the fate of the Earth. If Goro wins, it will likely spell the end of their civilization. These 32 warriors have gathered as only the best among them will be allowed to compete for the chance to save the Earth. They have all been training hard, some for over a decade now. The bracket has been seeded and the first round will begin shortly, may the best shaolin monk win. The gong sounds with one of the elders declaring them dismissed, they will begin in one hour. The other warriors stand up and begin walking over to view the bracket. Liu Kang and Kung Lao look and see they are on complete opposite sides, which they find relieving in a way. Chan and Gang also wander up, being on Kang and Lao's side of the bracket respectively. The four converse, Kang being happy to see Chan again. Chan and Gang say they will beat them this time, before heading off to their matches.

Similar to the Junior tournament earlier on, the player would switch between Liu Kang and Kung Lao to play their matches. In between, you can walk around the Wu Shi Academy and Temple, explore, and train up.

This continues on until after the Quarter-Final matches. Kung Lao celebrates about advancing to the Top 4, alongside Liu Kang. They learn that Chan and Gang have also advanced to tit, which they aren't really surprised at by this point. Wu calls them forth, congratulating them on their valor in arriving at this point. They all have great skill and whichever one takes it all, he has no doubt that they can take on the challenges of Mortal Kombat. He announces the Semi-Final matches, Liu Kang vs. Chan and Kung Lao vs. Gang. They are dismissed for the day, Cho and Jin approaching them. Kung Jin shouts happily that Lao is for sure going to win now, there is no way the other can beat him! Lao thanks Jin for his words, as he introduces him to Chan and Gang. Cho tells Liu Kang that he has improved a ton from the little boy he took in, all those years ago. Kang bows to Cho, thanking him for compliment. Cho leaves while the others talk, walking over to Zhang and Shen. The latter remarks that Lao has been great so far, he seems to be pretty confident in his victory. Zhang is worried that he'll get cocky and asks Cho if he thinks he'll win. He replies that Lao certainly has a chance, but it isn't a 100% chance. Cho tells them that there is more to Kang then they think, which Zhang says isn't surprising. He was caught off guard by what Kang has learned under Cho and he's reminded by his own training under him. While he talks, we hear Cho's thoughts. In actuality, he doesn't believe Lao has that great of a chance against Liu Kang. Lao is a great warrior, but Kang is on a different level. He is "The Chosen One", after all. Still, he's curious to see how the rest of the competition plays out.

Later that evening, Kang, Chan, Gang, and Lao are sitting together and eating on the porch of the Temple Gardens. Chan is discussing in detail to Lao and Gang, catching up on what he has been doing. He's continued his training at the Eastern Temple, mastering the style of Choy Li Fut. His primary motivation, besides the chance to represent the shaolin at Mortal Kombat, was to become as strong as he can for his rematch with Liu Kang. After his loss at the Junior tournament, he swore that the next time the two would fight, he would emerge victorious. He then directly addresses Kang, telling him that he isn't the runt he was then and to not underestimate him. Liu Kang counters, asking how Chan has been estimating him. This leads to a silence, which Gang and Lao break by talking about their own training. Suddenly, Hai shows up and whacks Kang in the back of the head with a rolled up newspaper. The two hug, with Kang saying that it so great to see him again. Hai sits down and starts blabbering his mouth, beginning to irritate everyone except Liu Kang, who just laughs. We cut away as the two burst out laughing from Hai's words, while the others just react with annoyance.

Two days later, the Semi-Finals begin. Liu Kang and Chan have arrived at the Wu Shi Academy's courtyard for the fight, practicing and stretching while they wait for the Wu and the elders. Zhang, Jin, Bo' Rai Cho, and Hai are sitting in the audience while Lao and Gang talk to Kang and Chan. Kung Lao reminds Kang of Chan's words from yesterday, telling him that Choy Li Fut is a style that focuses on striking, joint lock, and grappling. Martial arts experts like Bruce Lee say it is one of the most difficult styles to attack and defend against. Liu Kang smiles and tells Lao that his Jeet Kune Do will be a sufficient enough counter against Chan's. When Lao asks what will happen if it isn't, Liu Kang replies that he'll just have to wing it then.

Meanwhile, Gang is telling Chan about Kang's fireballs and Flying Kick technique. These moves are pretty strong, Chan can't quite utilize his chi in such ways like Kang does. Chan replies that he'll need to be on his guard and keep on the attack. His Choy Li Fut training is going to finally payoff, he will defeat Liu Kang. The gong then sounds, signaling the beginning of the fight.

Eventually, Liu Kang manages to defeat Chan once more. Master Wu commends him and announces his advancement to the Finals. The audience applauds Kang, as he goes over to help Chan get on his feet. They bow to one another, with Liu Kang saying that Chan really gave a run for his money. Chan tells him to drop the pleasantries, that he never stood a chance against Kang, but Kang disagrees. He says that Chan should not underplay his skill, he can count several instances where he thought he would lose. Chan smiles, telling Kang that he hopes that he wins the Final. After he almost falls over, Kang grabs Chan and helps him to infirmary while Lao and Gang prepare for their match.

Kung Lao and Gang leave the audience and enter the courtyard properly, bantering with each other along the way. They get into their fighting stances as the gong sounds. Gang's Pao Chui, mixed with Bo' Rai Cho's teachings, ends up giving Lao some genuine trouble. Lao wonders if there is more to what Kang and Gang learned under the master, saying that the two's fighting has been noticeably different in style and skills from the other monks.

Finally, he manages to KO Gang via a Wind Teleport, Whirlwind Spin, and uppercut combo. The monks applaud, while Zhang and Cho cheer loudly for Lao's victory. We see Liu Kang and Chan return from the infirmary, the former walking over to congratulate Lao while the latter helps Gang up. Chan and Gang talk about how it's a shame that they failed, but at least they were able to showcase how far they've come and maybe their training for Mortal Kombat wasn't a waste. Their conversation is interrupted, when they notice Liu Kang and Kung Lao staring each other down. Chan wonders what's wrong, Gang pointing out that the two have realized that once again, the Final match comes down to them. They may be good pals, but only one of them can earn the right to represent the shaolin and possibly avenge their ancestor. As Wu announces the final match that will occur in three days, Gang questions who will win. The main bloodline, trained in the styles of Master Wu. Or the branch guy with the vast teachings of Bo' Rai Cho?

Later that night, Lao is in his room, writing in a notebook about possible strategies for fighting Liu Kang. Jin opens the door and walks in, wanting to gush about how well Lao has been doing. This manages to relief Lao of some of the stress he's feeling and shows Jin some of his writings. Jin can't make heads or tails of it, but still tells Lao that he'll be able to take on Liu Kang no matter what he comes up with. Lao is feeling confident about the upcoming match and asks Jin to cheer him on, louder than ever before. Jin happily agrees and two begin having a funny conversation.

In Kang's bedroom, we find him resting on his bed and reading a book. Bo' Rai Cho walks in, holding two mugs of his finest brew. He states that he has been doing very well in the competition so far, but the match against cousin Lao will be the hardest part yet. Liu Kang says that Wu's training has worked wonders for Lao, he's impressed by some of the moves he had demonstrated throughout the competition so far. Cho asks if he thinks he can defeat Lao, with Liu Kang simply saying that he can see the fight going either way. He just hopes that both him and Lao will be able to give it their all. Cho smiles and hands Liu Kang one of the mugs, the two toasting and they then talk the night away.

It is time for the fateful match. Liu Kang and Kung Lao have been practicing and training hard over these last 15 years. Now it is time to see which of them is better and decide who will get the right to compete in Mortal Kombat. The two arrive in the Wu Shi Academy's grand arena for the fight, to the cheers and applause of the monks. Wu and the elders give an impassioned speech. The two have advanced very far, but there can only be one warrior among them to compete in the tournament. Let it be known that regardless of who wins, they are both highly skilled fighters and that the Great Kung Lao would be proud of his descendants. The gong is rung and kombat begins.

Obviously, you'd take control of Liu Kang for this fight. Lao would have all his specials from _MK2_ by this point; Whirlwind Spin, Wind Teleport, Dive Kick, and Hat Toss. Maybe the music for the fight could be a more rough and dark version of whatever the _Shaolin Monks_ theme would be. It would also be one of the toughest fights in the game.

The fight lasts for hours, eventually the two monks are almost completely drained of their stamina. With the last of his strength, Lao runs and launches a powerful Dive Kick. Liu Kang, similarly uses his Flying Kick with the last of his power. Lao misses his kick, but Liu Kang lands his cleanly on Lao's head. Kung Lao is sent falling to the ground and the 10 count begins. Lao desperately tries to get up, but he doesn't make it. The gong is rung one final time as Wu declares Liu Kang the winner of the Shaolin Tournament and that he has earned the right to compete in Mortal Kombat.

Everyone in the audience applauds Kang, except Jin, Zhang, and Shen. Lao gets on to his knees, his face full of tears and anger, as he looks towards Jin. He notices Jin likewise has tears in his eyes and seems to be expressing a mix of sadness and disappointment. Once he sees Jin look away from him, Kung Lao has had enough and suddenly runs out of the arena. Liu Kang calls out to him and is prepared to follow, but Zhang tells Kang that he'll handle it and to stay put.

We find Lao in his bedroom, weeping on his bed. He looks up and examines the gifts the children monks have made him over the years. Suddenly, Lao's sadness turns to blind anger has he begins tossing and breaking all the stuff. Zhang comes in and yells at Lao to stop, snapping Lao to his senses. He looks in his hands and sees that he just tore, ripped up, and crumbled the drawing that Jin had made, 2 years ago. Zhang grabs it and tosses the mess on Lao's bed, then asks him to sit down with him.

Zhang tells Lao about how upset he was when he was eliminated from the 1942 Mortal Kombat, so he can understand his feelings. But before he can say anymore, Lao just says that he can't because his situation is different. Lao stands up and leans against the wall, before discussing his feelings. He never wanted the life of a warrior, but he eventually came to accept it was necessary and he wanted to make both his great ancestor and dad proud. Lao even turned down an opportunity to be with the love of his life for this. He spent 17 years, the majority of his youth, pouring his heart and soul into this life of training and self-betterment. But in the end, it was all for nothing. He could go and live the peaceful life he has always wanted, but now as a loser prize. Lao has disappointed his father, Zhang, Jin, Shen, and his ancestor. Zhang tries to say that isn't true, but Lao continues. He admits to Zhang that he now feels an animosity and hatred towards Liu Kang. Lao says he took his right from him, that he has sullied himself and heritage by allowing a BRANCH member to best a man of the main Kung bloodline. The thing is, Lao knows these feelings are all unfair to Kang. He didn't purposefully try to take Lao's destiny from him, he just trained to be a great warrior because he wanted to help Earthrealm and for a genuine love of martial arts. Despite knowing that nothing Kang has done really warrants these feelings, Lao cannot seem to stop himself from being overwhelmed by them. He begins crying again, being conflicted by everything going on within him at the moment. Zhang walks over and hugs Lao. He lets go and tells him that no matter what Lao does, he will never be a disappointment to his family. As for his feelings regarding Liu Kang, that is something he will need to figure out for himself. He suggests that he talk things out with Kang, that it is okay to vent his feelings and that he shouldn't bottle them up. Zhang is sure that Kang will understand Lao, which does manage to reassure Lao. He thanks his grandfather for the words, when they strange rumblings coming from outside.

Back at the arena, Liu Kang is about to be handed his Warrior's Medal for winning the competition. All of a sudden, a crowd of demons burst into the academy. Lao and Zhang arrive, wondering what exactly is going on. The demons surround them as some familiar figures walk up to them. It's the green cloaked bandits and Danquan, who pave the way for Li Han. He holds in his hand the completed Jinsei Ruby, having finally crafted the pieces back together. Wu approaches, in shock at seeing him. Han laughs and mockingly greets Wu. 55 years ago, he left these temples and swore that he would become a powerful warrior. He blasts Wu with a red energy blast, asking him what he thinks of his abilities now. Han then addresses Liu Kang and Kung Lao, thanking the two for helping retrieve the ruby pieces over this last decade. Lao approaches Han and tells him that they won't be manipulated by him anymore. Li Han just laughs at this remark, before quickly using some sort of spell on him. Suddenly, Lao joins Han's side to the shock of everyone. Han says that thanks to the ruby's power, he was able to enhance his mind persuasion powers into straight up mind control. This is how he got this force of demons. He used the ruby's interrealm portal power to go to the Netherrealm and bring them under his power. Han then offers the monks to join him willingly, in his conquest of China and then the Earth.

When the monks all refuse, Han begins using his power to bring them under his control. Liu Kang tries his hardest to resist, refusing to give in to Li Han again. He sits down and tries to meditate, focusing his chi on defending himself from Han's spell. After a long while, Liu Kang finally manages to block Han's power from controlling him, but he ends up passing out from the strain.

Chan tries to get to his through to Gang, as he walks over to join Han. He fails and gets frustrated so he looks over and notices that Han is distracted with watching the monks join his side. Chan quickly runs up and does a double roundhouse kick across Han's face. Angrily, Daquan knocks Chan to the ground with his staff and is about to beat the crap out of Chan when Han stops him. He calls over one of the demons and tells him to grab Chan's legs. Li Han says that Chan has some strong legs, telling Chan that he would like to have hem. He signals the demon, who rips off both of Chan's legs to the absolute horror of Bo' Rai Cho and the remaining monks.

Enraged, Bo' Rai Cho approaches Han and challenges him. Han is surprised that Cho has continued to resist despite his increased power, commending the fat man on his resolve. Before Cho can attack, Han signals the demons who are prepared to strike the brainwashed monks dead. Cho stops himself and Li Han ask what he'll do now. Sighing, Bo' Rai Cho makes Han an offer. Leave the temple and academy in peace, as well as the elderly, children, and infirmary staff. In return, he will let himself fall under Han's spell. Han is surprised that Cho would be that desperate, but decides to accept. Zhang shouts out to Cho, as he is put under Han's control. We see that unlike certain other MK villains, Han is a man of his word and follows his end of the deal. He leaves with the demons, brainwashed monks, Kung Lao, and Bo' Rai Cho at his side. Cut to black as the gates slam shut behind him.

Liu Kang awakens in the infirmary, dazed and confused. He suddenly remembers what has happened and leaps out of bed, out of the room. Zhang and Shen notice Kang is up and runs over to him, managing to calm Kang down from his panic and informs him what happened after he passed out. He then brings Kang over to Chan's room, where we see that he has been bandaged up where his legs were torn off. The doctor tells the two that Chan lost a lot of blood, but they managed to transfer what they had and he'll pull through. They suddenly hear Chan weakily speak, calling Liu Kang over to him. Kang slowly walks over and starts to talk, only for Chan to interrupt by telling Kang to save his brother...save Lao...save China, before drifting back to sleep. Kang falls silent as Wu and Jin enter, asking if everything is alright. Liu Kang punches a hole in the wall, declaring that Han WILL be stopped.

Kang packs a bag for the trip and is standing with Wu, Zhang, Shen, and Jin at the temple gates. Zhang hands Kang a map, telling him that Han's base is rumored to be somewhere in the Tibet Mountains. Wu tells Kang that he must make rapid progress towards Han, before he makes his move to take over the country. Liu Kang promises Zhang and Wu that he will not fail in his quest. As he heads down the path, Shen and Jin cry out to Liu Kang and ask him to bring back Lao safely. Kang simply smiles and waves back as he disappears over the hill. Shen pats Jin on the head and tells him not to worry, they have faith that Liu Kang will pull through.

Before heading out towards the Tibet Mountains, Liu Kang makes a stop in Zhu Zin to get some supplies. However, he arrives to find the town in disrepair and panic. Suddenly, a woman in ruby cloaks approaches Kang and motions for him to follow her. Kang recognizes her as Omegis from when him and Kung Lao were catching up, quickly running after her.

We soon find Kang and Omegis in her shack, where she is cooking up some sort of potion. She explains to Kang that Han's army laid waste to Zhu Zin after the town's Lord refused to surrender to his forces. Many perished and the survivors are trying to get help to rebuild the town. She has been providing extra potions and herbs to help the wounded. Omegis had a feeling that either Kung Lao or Kang would should up soon and was preparing something to help them take down Li Han. Liu Kang asks how Omegis knows him and she says that Lao mentioned him a few times during his recent trips, asking her to help him if anything were to ever happen to Lao. Omegis tosses strange liquids and herbs in her cauldron, which suddenly sends up a blue smoke. She scoops some of the concoction and places it in a glass bottle, which she then hands to Liu Kang. Omegis tells Kang that this potion can undo spells of the mind, including Li Han's control. He can feed this to someone, but warns that they must drink the entire contents, thus he can only use it on one person so use it wisely. She also hands Liu Kang a few healing potions and tells him good luck, he's going to need it. Kang bows and thanks Omegis, before leaving her shack and heads off. Omegis notes that the Great Kung Lao bloodline is strong in Kang and Lao, but wonders if that is enough to stand up to Han.

After two and a half weeks of traveling, we find Liu Kang climbing up a steep slope in the Tibet Mountains. He nearly slips near the top, but manages to pull himself up and looked into the valley below. There he finally sees Han's mansion palace. It's a big, sinister place the contrasts heavily with Bo' Rai Cho's palace.

Suddenly, we zoom out and it's revealed that Li Han and Daquan are watching this through some sort of magic cauldron. Daquan expresses his concern that Liu Kang could be a threat and that they should have taken care of him back at the academy. Han dismisses it, saying that his forces will prove to be more of a match for the monk. We learn that Han is currently preparing his troops for an attack on the capital which is where he will launch his conquest of China and the Earth.

Thus, the final dungeon of _Shaolin Monks_ begins. Naturally, this would one tough area to go through. Enemies would be various different demons, brainwashed monks, and Li Han's bandits. Not only would the fights be challenging, but so would the layout and puzzles of the place. It should put not just the player's fighting skills to test, but also their brains as well.

Roughly a ⅓ of the way through the palace, Liu Kang finds himself in a large ornate room. He is about to open the door at the other end, when it suddenly flings open and he is sent flying. Recovering, he sees Kung Lao standing before him with the soulless eyes of Han's spell. Liu Kang tries to get through to him, only for Lao to start angrily ranting at Kang. He reveals all the previously mentioned animosity and anger he feels towards Liu Kang, which he is naturally taken aback by. Suddenly, Li Han's voice echoes from deep in the mansion. He proclaims that he found out about Lao's hidden feelings of Kang after he used the ruby to peer into his mind and has heightened them to dangerous levels. Liu Kang calls out to Li Han, saying that he will rue the day for what he has done to Lao and his brethren. Han chuckles and tells Kang that we'll see about that, before ordering Lao to fight Liu Kang. But not before he used the power of the Jinsei Ruby to enhance Kung Lao's strength, stamina, and speed.

Despite Lao's enhanced abilities, Liu Kang once again defeats him. However, not without injury, as Kang finds his right arm sprained and his body near exhaustion after the long fight. Liu Kang kneels before Lao, expressing sadness at what has happened to him. Once more, Han's voice echoes. He is surprised that Liu Kang managed to beat the enhanced Lao, but has realized that the fight has left him weakened for another attack. Han summons an Elite Oni Warlord, enhanced by the ruby. He laughs as he orders the Oni to "Finish Him!"

Reacting quickly, Liu Kang pulls out the blue concoction that Omegis had given him. He just manages to down the entire bottle down Lao's throat, as the Oni grabs him and hurls Kang into a wall. Kang limply stands up and tries to fight against the Warlord, but the injuries are starting to get to him. The Warlord sends Kang flying with his club, into the wall once more and is prepared to finish Kang.

Suddenly, Lao runs towards the behemoth and Dive Kicks it right in the face. He helps up Kang and the two fight the Warlord together, just barely defeating it. The two monks fall to the ground and rest for a bit, remaining eerily silent. Lao is about to say something, when Liu Kang just hugs him and cries. He expresses how happy he is to have Lao back, which Lao just smiles to. The two have a moment of levity together, after all that's happened so far. Liu Kang brings up the words Lao said while he was brainwashed, about hating him for everything he's taken away from Lao. Kung Lao admits this and opens up about his feelings over everything that has happened recently. The two discuss this with Liu Kang apologizing, as he didn't realize how much this meant to him until it was too late. Kung Lao however says that there is no need to apologize. Kang just did what he wanted and in the end, he proved himself superior. If anything, it's good that there is a warrior better than him, who has an even greater chance at winning Mortal Kombat. Lao isn't sure if he'll ever get over his unfair, negative feelings towards Kang as even now he can feel it deep down, but he will try and make amends with Kang. The two shake hands as they look towards the door that Lao had entered from earlier. Liu Kang says that the two have fought a lot in the past, now it is time that they work together. After tending to their wounds, the two advance further into the palace.

Finally, the player controls Liu Kang and Kung Lao together again! I was thinking maybe the two could now have special combination moves that take a lot of power, but can deal out major damage. I'm not sure exactly what you would have them do for those moves, maybe some combine their special moves together, but I feel it would be a cool thing to have. The puzzles up throughout the rest of the dungeon would make use of their abilities and the fact you now have two characters to work with.

At the halfway point of the dungeon, Liu Kang and Kung Lao are suddenly ambushed by Master Bo' Rai Cho. They are shocked as they hear him proudly proclaim his loyalty to Li Han. The two monks, Liu Kang especially, really do not want to fight Cho. Not only do how close he is to them, but also because of his strong fighting skill. They try desperately to get through to Cho, who just kicks their asses. Eventually, Lao says to Kang that they to focus and just fight Bo' Rai Cho, their words aren't working. Liu Kang reluctantly agrees and the two fight Cho proper, eventually defeating him. As Cho lays on the floor, out cold, Lao asks if he can restore Cho like he did for him. Sadly, Liu Kang had to use all the potion on Lao to bring him back so there is nothing they can do for Cho. Kung Lao tries to cheer Kang up, saying that once they get the Ruby, they will be able to free Cho and all the monks. Liu Kang says Lao is right and the two press on.

After much traversing, the two monks make it to the Grand Hall before the Throne Room. The doors to the throne room open, out walks Li Han and Daquan. Han commends the two warriors on making it here, but this as far as they go. He orders Daquan to attack and a fight begins. Kang and Lao manage to easily defeat Daquan, who apologizes to Han for failing him. Han simply says there is no need for that, he hasn't failed him yet. Before Daquan can ask what he means by that, Han begins zapping him with energy from the ruby. A flash of black light blinds the two monks and sends them falling to the ground.

When the light clears, we see that Li Han has transformed Daquan into an Orochi Hellbeast. Liu Kang and Kung Lao are shocked and awestruck by the creature before them, but Kang quickly turns to disgust and yells at Li Han for doing this to his own friend. Li Han just madly cackles, saying that Daquan is nothing more than a tool for his evil plans. Kung Lao asserts that the Jinsei Ruby is corrupting his mind and driving him mad, but Li Han is having none of that crap and just sends Hellbeast Daquan at the two monks.

The fight against the Orochi Hellbeast would be tough, with great attacks and defense. We could also have Li Han sometimes come in and either heal some of its HP, or temporarily buff it with the Jinsei Ruby's power.

Liu Kang and Kung Lao manage to overcome Hellbeast Daquan, who returns to normal. Han this time tells Daquan that he has truly failed him and will now pay the ultimate price. He absorbs Daquan's lifeforce into the crystal and uses it to power himself up, much to Kang and Lao's horror. Han then turns around and walks through the doors to the throne room, which slam shut behind him. He tells the two monks to face him, when they are ready.

This would give the player an opportunity to heal up, leave and stock up on items for the final boss, etc.

The two monks enter the massive Throne Room, where Li Han is casually sitting on the throne. He calls it sweet irony that the two that helped him acquire this vast power are now the ones who plan to stop him. Kung Lao tells Han that he is mad once again and that his plans to take over China and the Earth will not succeed. Li Han just laughs, saying that the armies of the world will be no match for his sorcerery and demon forces. He tells the two that he will spare them if they surrender and become his willing servants. Lao refuses, saying that him and Kang would never serve an evil like him. Kung Lao seems ready to strike, when Kang suddenly holds him back and approaches Li Han. He proceeds to give Li Han a classic "Kirk Summation." Kang tells Han that there is good inside anyone and that the monks always taught him to respect all life. He believes in second chances and is willing to give Han one, if he stops this madness. Li Han just stands up from his throne and assumes a fighting stance, telling Kang to save the words for someone who cares. Thus, the final fight against Li Han begins.

Miraculously, the shaolin monks manage to defeat Li Han after an epic clash. Liu Kang once again tells Li Han to step down, who just responds that they'll have to kill him. Kang just shakes his head and tells him that is not the way of the shaolin. He is prepared to take the ruby from Li Han, forcibly if necessary, when Han suddenly grabs very tightly onto it and sees the two monks flying with a burst of red energy.

When the two get up, they notice that Han has transformed. He has used the Ruby's power to absorb the dark magic of the Netherrealm, becoming some sort of shadowy demon with a menacing white beard and dark red robes, contrasting with the green he normally wears. In a deep, gruff, and echoey voice, he shouts that he will finish the two for good and feast upon their lifeforce!

The final battle against Kage Han begins and naturally be an extremely difficult fight fitting for the last phase of the final boss. While Liu Kang and Kung Lao's individual moves can do good damage against him, Han's major weakness in this phase would be their combination attacks. Just to really drive home the idea that it will take the monks working together with all their strengths to defeat this massive threat.

After a long and brutal battle, Liu Kang and Kung Lao emerge victorious against Han, landing a combination Flying and Dive Kick as the final blow. He falls to the ground, cursing at how he could lose to two wussy monks. Han returns to normal, the ruby falling from his hand. It rolls to Kung Lao's feet, who picks it up. Liu Kang asks what now, Lao saying they must first send all the demons back to the hellscape from whence they came. Lao focuses his energy and uses the ruby to open a portal back to the Netherrealm, then begins using the magic of the ruby to suck all the demons back in the portal. This goes on for a while, until something unexpected happens. It turns out that the mind control has worn off on the demons and they are kinda pissed at Li Hand for manipulating them. As one is getting sucked in, it grabs Han's leg and began dragging him towards the portal. Liu Kang quickly rushes forward, despite Lao's shouts, and grabs Han's hand. He begins trying to pull Han away from the demons, only for more to grab onto Han's leg. Li Han, shocked, asks why Liu Kang continues to help him. Kang just replies that he is a shaolin monk, that is what they do. Suddenly, Han gets a look of disgust on his face and lets go. He is dragged into the portal with the last of the demons, which then closes. Liu Kang wonders why Han let go, Kung Lao saying maybe he'd rather take his chances in the Netherrealm then accept help from his enemies. Kang shakes his head and calls Han a fool, praying that the gods protect him.

He then turns to Lao and wonders what they should do with the crystal, now that the have sent the demons back. Kung Lao suggests they finally do what his ancestor failed to do centuries ago, destroy it. However, he isn't sure if they have enough strength to do it. As the two ponder this, they suddenly hear a voice telling them that they can help with this little errand.

In walks Bo' Rai Cho, Gang, and a bunch of monks. Han's defeat and loss of the ruby crystal has freed them from his control. Cho grabs the crystal from Lao and tosses it on the ground, telling everyone to gather their energy and attack the crystal together. Liu Kang asks if Cho is sure this will work, Cho telling him to not worry and just do it.

Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Bo' Rai Cho, Gang, and the monks channel their energy towards the Jinsei Ruby. It doesn't seem to have much effect, so Cho tells everyone to concentrate harder and put even more energy into it. This continues on for a while, when Ruby begins vibrating. Cracks start forming all over the crystal. Then an explosion of energy sends everyone flying and temporary blinds them. Once they regain their senses, they find the crystal has been reduced to nothing but dust, which quickly dissipates. Everyone in the room then erupts into a loud cheer over the Jinsei Ruby's destruction.

We then find ourselves back at the Shaolin Temple on a pleasant evening. Shen, Zhang, and Wu are sitting together in the garden. The three are wondering if Liu Kang is doing alright and what has happened to the monks that Han took control of. We learn that Jin has been spending almost everyday so far at the temple gates, waiting for Kang and Lao's return. Shen looks at the time and decides he better go get Jin, Zhang and Wu deciding to go with him.

They arrive to find Jin sitting at the steps of the temple, dozing off as he waits. Shen wakes him up and tells Jin that it is time to head in. As they are about to close the gates, Kung Jin suddenly notices the noise of a crowd in the distance. Shen, Zhang, and Wu head out and look, seeing nothing. Jin says it seems to be coming from over the hill. The four wait as they see a crowd of monks, including Cho and Gang, carrying Liu Kang and Kung Lao above their heads. The noise was seem singing a song about Liu Kang and Kung Lao's heroic deeds, which the four decide to just go with it and join them.

The following morning, we find ourselves at the Wu Shi Academy courtyard. The monks have gathered for a great ceremony. We also see Gang standing beside Chan, who is now in a wheelchair. Liu Kang and Kung Lao arrive, walking down the row of monks who bow to them as they pass by. They kneel before Wu and the elders, who bring over a large chest. Cho and Zhang retrieve Warrior Medals from the chest, placing them on Liu Kang and Kung Lao respectively. The two smile at one another, while Cho and Zhang told the two that they are so proud of them and they have no doubt that the two shaolin warriors will go on to do great things in the future. Kang and Lao turn to the audience, who applaud them. Shen and Kung Jin loudly cheer for them. Shen turns to Jin and asks if he wants to be like cousin Lao when he grows up. Jin replies that of course he'd want to, he'd love to be as strong and cool as Lao and Kang. Shen says that maybe he will start Jin on his own training soon, which Jin is ecstatic about. We continue to focus on the monks applauding Kang and Lao, before we eventually cut away.

**SHAOLIN TEMPLE**

**SEPTEMBER 24TH, 1992**

We find Liu Kang, now in his casual attire, carrying a bag and heading out of the Temple Gates. He had talked to Master Wu earlier this morning and it is time for him to head out for the Mortal Kombat Tournament. He must head to Hong Kong, where he will board a boat to Shang Tsung's Island in two weeks time.

As he is heading out, Kang is stopped by Kung Lao. The two banter for a bit and if this seems familiar, that's because this would be a slightly extended version of a scene from _MK1_. Kung Lao asks Liu Kang if he would like one last spar before he leaves and we pan up to the sky as the two begin fighting, ending _Shaolin Monks_.

Over the credits, we'd simply see artwork of various moments from throughout the game. We'd also see some images that would imply certain things about certain characters. For example, we'd see that the reason they hadn't heard from Kai in three years. His father unexpectedly passed away and he became a drifter, now unsure of his purpose in life. He becomes an illegal street fighter to make ends meet and we have some set-up for his return in _MK4_. Another thing would be that Gang has retired from martial arts and left the temples, to take care of his now crippled brother, which would help explain why they aren't involved in the MK stories afterwards. The final artwork of the credits would show that Kung Lao has repaired Kung Jin's drawing that he had torn up earlier with tape and has hung it back over his bed.

But that isn't the true end of _Shaolin Monks_, quite yet. We still got a post-credits scene to get through!

**THE NETHERREALM**

**2003**

In a deep plane of the Netherrealm, we find that Li Han spent the last decade being tortured by the demons he had taken control of with the ruby. They mock Han and express their joy in making him suffer, when they are all suddenly attacked and driven off by a mysterious force. Li Han falls to the ground and thanks whoever saved him, only to notice Daquan standing before him. He has a rather angry look on his face and whacks Li Han across the head with his staff. A voice asks if Daquan got what he wanted and Daquan admits yes, he feels much better now. Li Han wonders who that voice is and we pan over to see it is Shinnok. Beside the fallen Elder God stands Shao Kahn, Shang Tsung, Quan Chi, and Onaga. Li Han is taken aback by this, prepared to run away when Onaga restrains him. He panicked asks what they are going to do him, Shinnok just saying that he would like Li Han to join their little alliance. Li Han asks what's the alliance about. Shinnok replies that the Forces of Darkness need all the help they can get for the upcoming battle. Han is confused and asks what battle he could possibly be talking about. Shinnok responds the end of all things, the Battle of Armageddon. The scene ends there and _Shaolin Monks_ finally lowers the curtain.

Like _Deception_'s Konquest mode, there could be some sort of post-game after. Freely being able to explore every area in the game as Liu Kang and Kung Lao, including a repaired Zhu Zin. Catch up any unfinished sidequest and have new ones introduced, maybe even a secret superboss or two.

I hope you guys all enjoyed the _Shaolin Monks _Wasted Plotential! Now, I'll never say my takes are ideal or perfect. I'm sure that there's a lot you could change/add to improve it. This interpretation turns the non-canon, awkward retelling of _MK2_ into an actual canonical story that attempts to add more character and backstory to Liu Kang and Kung Lao, while also hopefully adding more depth to their friendship. I'm not sure if this story would be the best fit for a game, but I'm still rather proud of how this turned out. I'm shocked at how long this was, I certainly didn't expect _Shaolin Monks_ to be the longest story so far, might even be the longest one of the Original Timeline.

Up next is the final chapter in the Original Timeline, _Armageddon_. I'm planning to hopefully have that finished by the end of 4th of July week, which I have entirely off work so maybe the parts for that will come up much faster. I hope you guys stay tuned for that and any other works I have in store for the future.


	17. Wasted Plotential: Armageddon (Part 1)

"**WASTED PLOTENTIAL: MORTAL KOMBAT ARMAGEDDON"**

It is time for the final story in the Wasted Plotential on the Original Timeline, _Mortal Kombat: Armageddon_! This will certainly be an interesting one, as I do have a number of adjustments and changes to the depiction of the story in the series canon. Before we get started, a few notes:

1) Dead characters from previous WPs are staying dead, unless there is a good explanation for them being back and if their story is worth continuing. There were characters in _Armageddon_ that returned from previous entries whose recoveries were never explained, such as Sheeva. Shujinko would not return, at least story-wise, because I feel his character arc started and ended in my version of _Deception_, so I don't think it would be worth bringing him back.

2) Like before, character subplots remain the same if otherwise not mentioned. The exception relates to the above point. If an _Armageddon _character, who is currently dead in my version of MK, is not mentioned then you can assume that they are still dead. Besides, the story and event would be less cluttered with the removal of extraneous characters. Not everyone will be gone, there are only just a few dead characters in this WP series so far.

3) Konquest and Post-Konquest will be merged together, rather then the two things being separated in the game.

That's all I have to say about that. Let's not waste anymore time and gets started on _Armageddon_!

We find ourselves in the residence of Argus, located somewhere in Edenia. Argus is the Protector God of Edenia and long guarded the realm alongside his wife, Delia. They lived peacefully for many a century, until something...unnerving happened. Delia began receiving visions of the distant future, where she witnesses the end of all reality. The Forces of Light and the Forces of Darkness's strength continues to grow until their final battle, which will bring about the apocalypse. Troubled by these premonitions of the future, Argus appeals to the Elder Gods about what to do. They assigned Argus to come up with a solution, promising him Elder God status if his plan succeeds. His first idea was to wait until the Forces grew, then kill them all to prevent Armageddon. However, Delia was a compassionate individual and told Argus that some were heroes, undeserving of death. So, Argus abandoned that plan and began thinking for a long time on what he should do.

One day, he noticed how strong and skilled his sons had become. Taven and Daegon, good brothers and pals, had been training among the best Edenian warriors for countless years. As he talks with Delia about them, Argus suddenly gets a flash of intuition. He begins discussing his idea with Delia, while we zoom out and reveal that this was all apparently being witnessed by Johnny Cage. He questions just what is going on, when he suddenly hears Sonya's voice.

Johnny wakes up, apparently having drifted to sleep in his recliner. Sonya tells him to hurry up, the party is starting soon. Cage looks dazed and confused at Sonya, before regaining his senses and joining her outside. It turns out that today is Cassie's 5th birthday and we some familiar characters attending, such as Jax, Vera, and Jacqui.

Cage sits down by himself as we hear his thoughts. Six months have passed since Onaga's defeat and despite the realms being saved, Johnny hasn't been able to shake a feeling of unease. He thinks about the carefree days when things were much simpler. The wise Raiden led the Forces of Light against evil, while Liu Kang always stood up to be the hero, defeat the big bad, and save the day. Now, Raiden has become disillusioned and is now a much more ruthless protector. Liu Kang was murdered by the Deadly Alliance, losing them one of their most important warriors. Thanks to Nightwolf, he is now in control of his zombie body, but lacks the full power he had when he was alive. Johnny wonders that if another big threat shows up, and one probably will at this point, if they'll be able to defeat it. Cage has been received strange visions for the last several weeks, like the one above. He has seen many including the Forces of Darkness, something called "Armageddon", involving two people named Argus and Delia. He has the feeling that something big is going to happen and all this just increases his unease. Cage looks over at his kids, Cassie and Cody, wondering if he will be able to ensure them a future. He is taken out of his thoughts by Cassie, who drags him over to slice the cake.

We then suddenly cut to a close-up of Johnny's sleeping face, that quickly shoots awake. He appears to be in a hellish landscape, which he wonders through for quite a while. Cage eventually spots someone that he hadn't seen for a long time. Shinnok, talking to someone on the other side of a portal. Suddenly, the location around Cage keeps changing but he still sees the same thing. Shinnok opening a portal, speaking to someone, then disappearing. The vision goes faster and faster, but then it quickly stops.

Johnny finds himself on the ruins of Shang Tsung's Island. Hearing a noise in the distance, he begins making his way to the Courtyard. As Johnny wanders through, we hear voices and see images of events from _MK1_ and when they meet here during _Deadly Alliance_, as Cage reminicines of his experiences on the Island.

Cage makes his way over to the Courtyard, taking cover behind the debris of a statue. He sees Shinnok standing beside another portal, apparently waiting for someone. Cage just can't believe that Shinnok is back, as he thought Raiden banished him back to the Netherrealm after Liu Kang defeated the fallen Elder God. His shock is heightened as he sees none other then Shang Tsung and Quan Chi emerge from the portal, bowing to Shinnok. Seeing Shinnok return is one thing, but the two sorcerers were explicitly killed by Raiden's kamikaze attack against Onaga. Could it be possible that Shinnok has brought the Deadly Alliance back from the grave? And if so, for what purpose?

As Johnny ponders this, he hears Shinnok give the two sorcerers instructions. He doesn't get most of it, but what he does hear sounds very interesting. They must gather the Forces of Darkness and then head for Shao Kahn's Palace in Outworld. They cannot allow Kotal Kahn to retake the throne, it is imperative that they strengthen their defenses and prepare for the upcoming attack. Tsung and Quan Chi respond, saying they understand and the two head back through the portal. Shinnok closes the portal and opens another one. He almost enters it until Johnny rushes toward him and blasts Shinnok with a Plasmic Bolt. The two fight to a stalemate, Johnny nearly gaining an edge until Shinnok uses some sort of flare move to blind him. He runs towards the portal, Johnny quickly giving pursuit as he regains his vision. Johnny leaps and grabs onto Shinnok, ripping off part of his outfit as Shinnok escapes through the portal. It closes after he enters, leaving Johnny all alone on the island.

Suddenly, Johnny opens his eyes and finds himself back at home in his bed. He shoots up, in a cold sweat. This wakes Sonya, who notes that he is back. This confuses Johnny, Sonya mentioning that she woke up a little while ago and saw that he was gone. She assumed that he had just gone to the bathroom, asking if everything is alright when she notices that Johnny looks rather perplexed. Johnny stammers out some words before realizing that something is in his hand. He shows it to Sonya and he gets startled once he sees that it the piece of Shinnok's clothing that he had ripped off. Upon seeing this, Johnny decides he has had enough and leaps out of bed. He quickly gets dressed as Sonya questions just what is going on and what is he doing. Johnny says that Shinnok is back and he has some "friends." If they are going to stop them, he's gonna have to get a few friends of his own.

**MEANWHILE, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GLOBE...**

We find ourselves in a cave, lit by the flow of a nearby lava river. Near the river, is a strange stone monolith with green runes strewn about it. Suddenly, a strange signal rings and echoes throughout the cave. Shortly after it finishes, the side of the stone monolith explodes in a burst of green light. A man falls to the ground, short of breath and confused out of his mind. He eyes around the cave and wonders where the hell is he. In one corner of the cave, he sees his pet dragon, Orin, eyeing him intensely. Orin greets the man, revealing him to be Taven, and says the time has come to fulfill his destiny. Taven has no idea what Orin is talking about, the last thing he remembers was entering the chambers of his father, Argus, alongside Daegon. They had been called their for something important. The two kneeled before their father and he can't remember anything past that. Orin tells Taven that him and his brother were put into a deep, ageless sleep. They were then sealed away at seperate caves in Earthrealm, until they were needed for Argus's mission. He had just received the signal from a being known as Blaze, that it was finally time for him to be awakened.

Taven doesn't care about some so called "destiny" and just wants to talk to his father. Orin tells him in order to do that, he must make his way to the Temple of Argus. He built it on Earth in secret long ago, one of the many things he made to help the two brothers on their journey. Taven interrupts Orin, telling him that he will not hear anymore about some stupid journey and asks how he can get out of this cave. Orin points the way out, before suddenly disappearing in a tornado of smoke. He promises that he will meet with Taven again someday, wishing him good luck. Taven can't believe what is going on, before deciding that sitting here and moping about it won't do any good. He heads up the passageway that Orin had marked and begins making his way out of the caves.

This would naturally be the first playable section, navigating the Lava Caves. It would probably be very simple with easy puzzles and probably a bit of tutorials to get a player used to how _Konquest_ mode works.

Taven exits the Lava Caves, finding himself a cliffside overlooking a deep ravine. He suddenly hears Orin's voice, which congratulates him for navigating outside. 50 miles to the north is where he'll find the Temple of Argus. In order to cross the ravine, he will need to head eastward to find the bridge over the ravine. Taven thanks Orin for the advice, but Orin responds to Taven that he needs to be careful. He can sense there are forces of darkness on ahead, some probably won't hesitate to kill him. Taven promises he'll be fine as Orin's voice fades away.

Traveling east, Taven sees the bridge in the distance. He runs towards it, but quickly ducks behind a rock and hides when he sees some unsavory looking people approach the bridge. Two individuals, that seem to leading some goons, order half of the group to cross the bridge while the other half stays behind. One of the leaders is also about to cross, when Taven confronts them. They introduce themselves as Kobra and Kira, top commanders of the Black Dragon Clan. Taven asks what they are doing here, which Kobra just responds that he could ask the same thing and it seems like he's about ready to fight Taven. Kira restrains him, before approaching Taven and explaining. The Black Dragon are here to investigate a mysterious temple here, that was discovered by Kabal. He is convinced that there is some sort of treasure here, but he can't open the temple door. Kobra interrupts and tells Taven to take a hike, this bridge is under Black Dragon control. Taven tells them that he needs the bridge to cross the ravine, which makes Kobra believe that he is after the treasure in the temple. He challenges Taven, who accepts the challenge.

Kobra is defeated and knocked unconscious. Taven asks if Kira wishes to challenge him as well, but Kira just laughs and says she isn't stupid. Kira orders her Black Dragon goons to attack Taven, but he manages to easily beat all of them. Cursing her subordinates for their stupidity, she decides she has no choice but to fight Taven. She too is defeated by Taven, who then crosses the bridge and resumes his venture to the temple.

Navigating through the mountainsides, Taven soon comes across stoney steps leading into a valley. At the base of the valley, he sees a temple that he assumes is the one he has been searching for. Taven begins making his way down the steps, but wonders why he hasn't seen anymore of those Black Dragon guys that crossed the bridge earlier.

He soon finds himself at the front of the temple. Taven examines the runes and architecture of the place, amazed that this place seems to be well over 10,000 years old. His eyes fall upon a black triangular monolith with dark grey runes, just a little bigger than him, at the side of the temple's door. Before he can examine it, a strange man in an even stranger mask approaches Taven from behind. He introduces himself as Kabal, Leader of the Black Dragon. Kabal is impressed that he got passed his men, as well as the fact he has defeated both Kobra and Kira. He offers Taven a place among the Black Dragon, which Taven naturally refuses. Taven accidentally lets it slip that he has been ordered to enter this temple, which makes Kabal assume that he was sent here by the Red Dragon. Before Taven can explain that he doesn't even know what that is, Kabal utters the Black Dragon call. Soon after, a whole squad of BD goons appear from behind the walls and over the hills. They come rushing into the temple grounds, lining up beside Kabal. Taven realizes he is horribly outnumbered and Kabal orders his goons to attack. Suddenly, a voice calls out from above. The voice tells Kabal that they might be outnumbered, but they aren't outmatched. Everyone looks up to see a figure sitting on a pillar high above. The figure drops down, revealing himself to be none other then Zombie Liu Kang. He starts attacking the goons and chaos breaks loose. Taven, seeing that the strange undead man seems to be an ally, just runs with it and aides him against the goons. Kabal tackles Taven and the two fight properly. Taven wins, but not without getting a nasty hook sword wound in the left side of his torso. Once the goons see that Kabal has been defeated, they flee in terror.

Taven is prepared to strike Kabal dead for the wound he has inflicted upon him, but is stopped by Liu Kang. When asked if he knows Kabal, Kang replies that they were friends, long ago. He tells Taven to leave Kabal be, that there is a heart of a warrior buried beneath his corruption. Although Taven doesn't agree with him, he decides to leave Kabal alone for his sake. He asks Kang just who he is and, most importantly, why he is an undead abomination. Liu Kang explains himself, short recap on Liu Kang's story from _MK1_ up through _Deception_. We learn Kang has been spending the last 6 months since those events, traveling the world, seeking the best sorcerers and other magic users he could find. None of them had the ability to resurrect him, unfortunately. To make matters worse, Fujin informed him that the Elder Gods have denied their request to revive him and he hasn't heard or seen Raiden since _Deception_. He was making his way back to the Wu Shi Academy, when he spotted Kabal and his cohorts. Kang quietly followed them to this temple and waited for the right moment to advance, when Taven came along. Taven is impressed by Liu Kang's tales and can sense that he has the spirit of a true warrior. He tells Kang about his own quest, asking if Liu Kang will join him. Kang accepts and the two exchange a hearty handshake.

Liu Kang would be the first character to join Taven in the story and would serve as the deuteragonist of the adventure. He could also serve as an additional mentor figure, like Bo' Rai Cho and Raiden were once to him, while showing how much he has grown and learned over the series.

When I say "first", that's because of a new mechanic I came up with for Konquest mode. The whole idea of _Armageddon_ is the Forces of Light and Darkness coming together for a big final battle. This is something I thought would be interesting to incorporate in the actual game. Over the course of the story, Taven would gain new allies to aide in his quest. This could come in the form of anything really. To help solve puzzles, make further progress in the story, to more interesting things. Maybe the player could even pick one of the characters they recruited for story fights, as well as optional battles and sidequests. We could even have some sort of co-op to the Konquest, though not sure how it work. This will also give more characters in the story and bring some sort of closure to some of their stories before the reboot. This way, we aren't just focusing on two new characters that send the old cast to the sidelines. Taven would still be the main focus and be mandatory to use in several fights, just he wouldn't be where all the focus lies. We also wouldn't recruit the ENTIRE cast of heroes, that would make the story too messy. You may have already figured out how the rest may come to join for Armageddon.

After their little handshake, Taven's attention turns back to that black monolith from earlier. The two warriors approach and Taven once more hears Orin's voice. He instructs Taven to touch the monolith. As Taven touches it, a flood of green light fills the area.

Taven soon finds himself in an ornate room, that resembles the old training area that him and Daegon used to practice in. A voice calls out to him, referring to Taven as his son. Taven turns around and sees his father, Argus. He runs up to hug his dad, but passes right through. Argus tells Taven that he is merely a reflection of his father. He explains that Taven will find many more monoliths scattered throughout the realms, they will take him here and he will further his skills that he will need on his adventure. Before Argus can continue, Taven interrupts and implores his father to just tell him about this adventure that him and Orin keep mentioning. Argus just says that he will find his answers at the heart of the temple and continues his speech. After explaining the monoliths can only be activated by him or Daegon, he announces that Taven's training will begin now.

Besides a basic refresher for how the fighting works, we'd also teach the player some of the more advanced techniques for excelling in Mortal Kombat. We could also maybe have Taven learn both a new special move and technique for use in the overworld. Similar to _Mythologies_, Taven would get new tools and abilities to use in the field to add more variety in the exploration, area puzzles, and more.

Argus tells Taven that is training is done for now. He instructs Taven to make his way to the heart of the temple, he will be waiting for him. Another giant flash of green light fills the area as Taven tries calling out to his father, in vain.

The light clears and we find ourselves back at the temple. Taven nearly slumps over, but Kang catches him. From his perspective, Taven just leaned against the monolith by his hand and conked out for hours. Before Taven can explain, the ground starts to shake. The previously dark grey runes on the monolith turn a bright blue. The door to the temple rumbles, then slowly opens. The two enter the temple, wondering what lies inside.

This would naturally be the first dungeon of Konquest and would be relatively simple, of course. Since we have Liu Kang with us, we could have a proper introduction to puzzles that require one of Taven's allies to solve. Nothing much else to say, other then it would be a short and sweet dungeon.

The two soon find themselves in a large room. There are four statues present, one on the east wall, one on the west, and two on the north wall. Taven recognizes them as himself, Daegon, Argus, and Delia, respectively. Liu Kang notices some strange hieroglyphs and drawings on the wall, asking Taven if he can figure out what they mean. Examining them, Taven believes he knows what they are. One seems to be mother Delia having one of her visions, another appears to be Argus speaking in the Chamber of the Elder Gods. The third depicts him and his brother asleep in the stone monoliths, watched over by their pet dragons. However, it is the fourth and final one that confuses him. It seems to show him and his brother fighting some sort of demon, atop a pyramid. Taven wonders if this is the destiny Orin had mentioned, also questioning just how long he was inside the stone monolith. The two suddenly hear a wearing sound and look around, Kang pointing to a red diamond on the ceiling. A beam of red light shoots down and a large Oni morphs into existence by the strange light. Taking advantage of the ally system, the fight against the Oni would be a 2-on-1 tag battle with Taven and Liu Kang. This would also obviously serve as the boss of the dungeon.

After defeating the Oni, it is absorbed back into the red light. Part of the ground retracts, revealing a steep staircase leading downwards. The two warriors press on, as we see traces of an invisible figure follow them.

The two arrive in a large chamber. In the center, there are step in all four cardinal directions leading up to a central platform. Nearby are two pedestals with hand-shaped holes on the top. One has green runes running along the side, the other red. Liu Kang tries putting his hand on the pedestal, but nothing happens. Taven tries it, resulting in another flash of green light. Once it clears, the two see Argus's apparition on the central platform above. He addresses Taven, telling him that is time for him and Daegon to fulfill their destinies and prove their worth to Edenia. He has provided gifts for both of them, in a chest against the north wall. Taven asks what they are and if he'll finally get around to explaining what exactly his quest is. Argus says that gifts are two weapons, crafted by the Elder Gods. The two brothers would use them to fight the firespawn Blaze, a creation of their dear Delia. Only one of the two brothers can defeat Blaze and this will determine the fate of all reality. Whoever wins will become the new Protector God of Edenia and will gain Blaze's prize, which will grant them ultimate power. He tells Taven that Delia also has a temple, located somewhere nearby. He wishes Taven good luck, telling him that they will meet again.

While this was going on, Liu Kang went to the north wall and examined the chest Argus had mentioned. Once Taven finishes talking to him, Kang calls him over to point out that chest was completely empty. Shocked, Taven questions who could possibly have beaten him here and wonders if Daegon had already visited this temple. If so, then why did he take both gifts if father mentioned that they were both of them. While two discuss this, Kang is suddenly electrocuted and falls unconscious. The invisible figure decloaks revealing himself to be Sektor. Taven is prepared to fight Sektor, but is electrocuted in the back by a Tekunin cyborg and falls to the ground. More Tekunin cyborgs appear and ask Sektor what he wants done with them. He orders the cyborgs to take them to the torture chamber of the Warship. He'll examine the temple and report back at 0400 hours, after which they will return to their base in Japan. The cyborgs bow to Sektor and we fade to black as they pick up Taven and Liu Kang.

Taven opens his eyes and finds himself on the Tekunin Warship. He finds himself restrained by some sort of blue energy, noticing Liu Kang also restrained beside him. Sektor enters through the door, addressing Liu Kang directly. Kang is surprised to see Sektor, last having personally seen him during the attack against Shinnok in _MK4_. Sektor remarks that a lot has changed since the battle against the fallen Elder God, but he's not here for exposition. He wants Taven and Liu Kang to tell him about the temple, why they were there, and what they found. The Tekunin had discovered that temple several months ago, detecting some strange energy anomalies within. He wants to know what could have given those readings, threatening the two warriors to talk. When Taven and Kang refuse, Sektor begins torturing them with electricity. He cranks the power up further and further as the two still refuse to talk. The interrogation is interrupted when the Warship suddenly violently shakes. A Tekunin reports that they were just hit by a torpedo, another reports several fighter planes flying above, attempting to bomb the Warship. Sektor orders them to launch the submarines and fighter jets, before asking who is attacking them. One of the Tekunins reports that it is a joint attack between the U.N's IIA, the U.S Special Forces, and the Japan government. Suddenly, the intercom freaks out and one of the Tekunins reports that their communication systems are being hacked. Before they can expel the hacker, a voice comes over the intercom. It is IIA Agent Cyrax, who playfully says to Sektor, "Long time, no see." They are wanted in violation of countless international laws and tells Sektor to surrender or they will destroy the Warship. Sektor refuses, proclaiming that he will rid himself of his enemies once and for all. He tells the Tekunins in the room to remain at their post as he heads to the bridge.

We get a nice cutscene of the Tekunin vs. the IIA, Special Forces, and Japan armies. During this, we also see Cyrax secretly board the Warship while the Tekunin forces are distracted. Another torpedo hits the Warship and tempoarily disables power in the torture chamber. This allows Taven and Liu Kang to escape, defeating the Tekunin cyborgs in the room.

The two eventually make their way up to the bridge. They witness Sektor give the captain and lackeys orders, while the two attempt to make a sneak attack on the cyborgs. Unfortunately, Sektor senses them and summons reinforcements. Before the fight can start, Cyrax suddenly de-cloaks and kills a few of cyborgs. During this, we see Sektor enter something on the computer console. Liu Kang and Taven fight off the remaining Tekunin while Cyrax confronts Sektor. Cyrax demands Sektor surrender himself, but the latter says that a true Tekunin never acquiesce to the enemy. Sektor calls Cyrax a traitor to not only the Lin Kuei, but also his cyborg brethren. Cyrax laughs and says that's rich, coming from the guy who murdered the Grandmasters, including his own father, in an attempt to take over the clan. Not only that, but he never even wanted this old cyborg business. It was Sektor and the Grandmasters that forced it upon him, something that he will never forget. He tells Sektor they were friends once, asking him if he can even recall those days. Sektor just dismisses Cyrax, telling him that he is a shame to his forefathers and proclaims that he will lead the Tekunin into complete domination of the Earth. Cyrax declares Sektor is mad and that it is time that someone ends his madness, challenging Sektor to Mortal Kombat, which he accepts.

Cyrax defeats Sektor, just in time as Taven and Liu Kang finish fighting the Tekunin goons. Sektor struggles to get up as Cyrax begins kicking him while he's down, finally getting to vent at Sektor for ruining the Lin Kuei and ruining his body with these cybernetics. He gets a bit too into it, requiring Taven and Kang to step in and calm him down. Sektor asks if Cyrax intends to kill him, then get it over with already. Cyrax declares that he isn't a monster like Sektor and handcuffs him. He is under arrest for crimes against the IIA, America, Japan, the U.N, and humanity as a whole.

Unfortunately, things go sour pretty quick. It turns out the stuff Sektor entered on the ship earlier were both "Abandon Ship" and "Self-Destruct" codes. They only have 2 and a half minutes until this Warship gets blown sky high. Taven tries to get Sektor to abort the countdown, but the cyber refuses to speak. Suddenly, an explosion tears a hole in the side of the bridge and knocks the heroes down. A Tekunin jet drops off a ladder and some cyborgs drop down that free Sektor. He tells the heroes to enjoy a watery grave as he grabs onto the ladder and the jet departs. Cyrax grabs onto the ladder, but gets kicked off by Sektor. Taven wonders what exactly they are gonna do as they have only seconds left. Thinking quickly, he tells the two to gather to him and he uses his Energy Net to create a shield around them.

The countdown runs out and the Warship explodes into a massive fireball, taking out some IIA, Special Forces, and Japan squads as they make a hasty retreat.

The explosion clears, revealing that Cyrax's net has actually protected the three of them from the explosion, but they are now left stranded in the Sea of Japan. Taven and Liu Kang celebrate their survival, also thanking Cyrax for inguity. The only problem is what to do now, when Taven suddenly hears Orin's voice. The dragon says that he will come to Taven's aide this time, but he must not expect him to always come to his rescue. The three notice a large shadow appears over them. They look up and Taven smiles, calling out Orin who is circling above. He eventually reaches the three and they board Orin, who flies the three back to the temple.

Taven thanks Orin for returning them to safety. He asks what has happened so far and Taven tells him about Tekunin soldiers at the temple and the fact Argus's gifts for him and Daegon were missing. Orin is puzzled, but reminds Taven that Daegon was also awakened thanks to the signal that he has mentioned before. It's possible that he entered the temple, took both gifts for unknown reasons, and resealed the place before Taven arrived. However, he thinks it odd that he could beat Taven there so quickly if they were both awakened at the same time. Taven decides that is a question he'll save for Daegon himself, he has no doubt that they will cross paths at some point. Orin gives Taven some additional help, informing Taven that Delia's temple resides in the snowy lands of Arctika. Liu Kang recognizes the name, it is a harsh landscape with unforgiving weather. It is located in the Manchuria region and is only roughly 40 miles to the northeast. Orin says that is good, Kang can guide Taven to Arctika and help him find the temple. He bids Taven goodbye, before reminding him that he won't always be able to help him out like this. Orin disappears in a puff of smoke.

Cyrax remarks that it seems Taven and Liu Kang are on a quest of great importance. The two explain what's going on and why Sektor had them on the Warship. Cyrax contemplates this information for a bit, before deciding that he will accompany the two. Not only to help, but based on what they've said, it is possible he will encounter Sektor again if he sticks with them. Thus, Cyrax joins the party!

The three begin their long journey to Arctika. They eventually find themselves crossing a narrow road through the side of a snow-covered mountain, said road Liu Kang claims will lead directly into the heart of Arctika. Suddenly, the three are ambushed by gang of shadowy ninjas. Kang notes their similarity to Noob Saibot, but Cyrax also states that he can sense and analyze that they also have Lin Kuei cybernetics. As the three prepare to fight, a mysterious man in purple rides in on a wave of water and trounces some of the Shadow Ninjas. Aiding the stranger, the group are able to repel the Shadow Ninjas for now. The man introduces himself as Rain, Son of Argus and Prince of Edenia. Naturally, Taven is incredulous at this claim at being related to his bloodline while Liu Kang has doubts about his relation to the Edenian Royal Family. Rain, to prove his worth, challenges Taven to a fight. Taven accepts and the two fight. He is about to deliver the final blow to Rain, when his mask, damaged from the fight, falls off. On Rain's jaw, he sees the same dragon birthmark that both him and Daegon possesses. Only people of Taven's bloodline have such a birthmark, making him realize that Rain is telling the truth. He asks how his parents never mentioned Rain before, so he elaborates.

A very LONG time ago, Argus had an affair with an Edenian Princess. They had a child together, so Rain is actually Taven and Daegon's half brother. Argus became regretful of the whole thing and wanted nothing to do with him. The Royal Family also shunned and disliked Rain, for being a bastard child. So, they cast him out of the Royal Family and they abandoned him on the streets. He was found and taken in by a retired Edenian general, who trained him in the ways of kombat. This was when he discovered his powers over water and became a master warrior. Liu Kang asks where he was during the conquest of Edenia and everything else that happened over the course of the series, but Rain refuses to elaborate. Rain asks to join the heroes, which Taven and Cyrax accept. Liu Kang remains suspicious of Rain, but decides to let him tag along for now. Rain joins the party!

The four enter the snow wastes of Arctika and come across a large, ornate palace. Taven assumes this is Delia's Temple and prepares to head in. However, Liu Kang and Cyrax stop him. They tell Taven that the markings on buildings indicate this is the Lin Kuei Temple, a group of chinese assassins led by Sub-Zero. Taven suggests that they go and meet this Sub-Zero, perhaps he may know about where Delia's Temple is. Suddenly, the group is surrounded by Lin Kuei Ninjas. They almost strike at the heroes, until one of them recognizes Liu Kang and Cyrax. The ninjas bow to the heroes, opening the gate and welcoming them to the home of the Lin Kuei. They are taken to the Courtyard and are told to enjoy their stay. Allies of Grandmaster Sub-Zero are always welcome. Taven asks if they may speak to Sub-Zero, but is informed that he is currently away and won't be back for 3 days. Cyrax suggests that the four of them get some rest and practice while they wait, which Taven is glad to hear as he hasn't had any good rest since he was reawakened. The ninjas lead them to some guest rooms and tell them they are free to go wherever they wish, with one exception. The Sacred Burial Chamber is the only place in the temple they cannot visit, under any circumstances. Taven and the others promise that, no matter what, they will not enter it. We then get some art and text, simply saying that Taven spent the next 3 days getting some much needed rest and practice with his three allies.

Taven wakes up early in the morning, the day that Sub-Zero is supposed to return. He walks alone through the Lin Kuei Temples, wondering what exactly this ninja clan is as he sees their aritcheture, art, and scriptures. While exploring, he stumbles upon the door to the Sacred Burial Chamber. Taven remembers that they told him not to enter, but he also wonders why this is the one place he can't go. Deciding that a quick peek won't hurt, Taven breaks the lock and opens the door. He finds dusty, decrepit stone stairs leading downwards into a large chamber. He finds many coffins aligned against the wall and what he guesses are statues of Lin Kuei ninjas from years past. He then spies a large pedestal near the north wall. On said pedestal, lies what appears to be a female Lin Kuei ninja frozen in a block of ice. Perplexed, Taven shatters the block of ice. He examines the women, who suddenly springs to life and attacks him. Taven defeats the women, who falls to the ground and asks who he is. After introducing himself, the lady apologizes and introduces herself as Frost. She was a bit deluded and not in her right mind after being trapped in that icy prison for so long. Taven asks who put her there, Frost claiming that it was Sub-Zero. She says that he left her to die in Outworld, but she was able to find a portal back to Earthrealm. Frost attacked the palace out of rage, only to be cast in that ice prison by Sub-Zero. She thanks Taven for freeing her and quickly leaves the Burial Chamber before Taven can stop her. He quickly heads up and finds Frost in the Courtyard, attacking and even killing some Lin Kuei Ninjas. One ninja runs up and accuses Taven of setting her free, which he sheepishly admits to. The ninja rants at Taven, as they had warned him not to go there. Taven counters by saying that maybe he should have actually told them WHY they needed to stay away from the chamber. However, this arguing is soon interrupted. The gates of the temple burst open, revealing Sub-Zero and some Lin Kuei guards. He struts towards Frost, just as Liu Kang, Cyrax, and Rain arrive to see what's going on. Frost begins angrily ranting at Sub-Zero, about how much he's let her down and how she betrayed him. Sub-Zero just continues to approach, silently and with a look of anger. This actually starts to unnerve Frost, who stops ranting and slowly backs away. She starts begging for mercy, promising that she won't bring harm to the Lin Kuei or Sub-Zero again. Sub-Zero looks at her in silence for what seems like forever, before smiling and offers a hand of friendship. He says that he has failed her in the past and that they will fix their mistakes together. However, as he turns to address Taven and the others, Frost creates an ice spike and tries to stab Sub-Zero in the back. But Kuai Liang saw this coming and dodges, before punching her in the face. The two fight, Sub-Zero emerging the victor of course. Frost believes Sub-Zero will kill her, but Liang refuses. There is still deceny in Frost and he refuses to give up on her. Frost, noticeably conflicted, shouts that Sub-Zero is a fool and makes a mad dash for the temple gates. She escapes just before the ninjas are able to close the door. Sub-Zero laments the whole situation, wishing he could have trained her differently. After a period of silence, Taven walks up to introduce himself. However, a ninja goes up to Sub-Zero and whispers something first. Liang approaches Taven and suddenly knocks him to the ground, puts Taven's arms behind his back, and creates some ice handcuffs. He tells Taven that he is now a prisoner of the Lin Kuei, for violating their Sacred Burial Chamber.

We cut to Sub-Zero's Throne Room. Liu Kang, Cyrax, and Rain stand beside the throne. They want to talk to Sub-Zero, but the ninjas refuse to let them. Taven is dragged inside the room and thrown in front of Sub-Zero. He tells Taven to plead his case and plead it well, or he will face punishment. Taven just says that he came here in search of something, too angry with Sub-Zero to say anything else. Sub-Zero is furious at Taven's disobedience, saying that Taven is a fool and doesn't quite understand the trouble he is in. Liu Kang and Cyrax step in, defending Taven. When the former mentions the gift of Delia, Sub-Zero is suddenly interested. He frees Taven and leads the group away.

He reveals a fake trap door, leading to a descending spiral staircase. At the bottom, are two ornate doors with Taven's dragon birthmark imprinted on both doors. Instead of knobs, there is a large hand imprint. One of the two doors is already opened, with nothing inside. Sub-Zero explains that when he settled the new Lin Kuei here years ago, they discovered this strange room. One of the doors was already opened, but the other was still closed and they have failed to open it. Taven finds this curious, only him and his brother can open this. He asks Sub-Zero when he discovered it, Sub-Zero replying that they settled here about 4 years ago. Taven wonders if it is possible that Daegon was freed earlier than him, but questions how that could have happened. Taven opens the other door, revealing a set of exquisite Edenian armor. He can sense that it is no ordinary armor, it was forged with the help of the Elder Gods. Taven puts it on, noting he can feel strength flowing within him. Sub-Zero asks about Taven, becoming intrigued by this mysterious individual. Before he can answer, a Lin Kuei guard shouts down the stairs at Sub-Zero. Shadow Warriors have invaded the Courtyard and are attacking the temple, several ninjas are already dead. Horrified, the five warriors race up the steps and out into the Courtyard. They see the Shadow Warriors standing in a black mist, alongside fallen Lin Kuei ninjas. Suddenly, the black mist envelopes the ninjas and they emerge as Shadow Warriors. Liu Kang can just barely make out two figures hiding in the mist, which Taven calls out for it to show himself. They hear an eerie voice that Sub-Zero immediately recognizes. From the mist, emerges not only Noob Saibot, but also...Smoke. Liu Kang and Cyrax are shocked to see the latter, having thought he was killed in the battle against Shinnok. Noob laughs and says that's what Sub-Zero used to think as well, asking the Chinese Ninja Warrior if he seriously thought that he had finished them during their encounter in the Netherrealm. Sub-Zero just yells and rushes at Noob Saibot, declaring that he will pay for what he has done to his brethren.

**TO BE CONTINUED IN PART II**


	18. Wasted Plotential: Armageddon (Part 2)

As Sub-Zero attacks Noob Saibot, we get a flashback to explain Noob's presence and the return of Smoke.

During the assault on Edenia Castle in _MK4_, Smoke would suffer a fatal blow in a fight against Noob Saibot. After Shinnok's defeat, Smoke was recovered by Edenian guard and was laid to rest in the Tomb of Warriors, a pristine burial site for famous Edenian heroes. Unbeknownst to anyone, Smoke was not dead. The damages from the battle had caused him to into emergency shutdown, leaving him in a state of dormancy for several years.

One day, Noob Saibot heard rumors of Smoke's burial site. With Shinnok gone, Noob had no master to follow. He decided to become his own master and began forming his group of Shadow Warriors. He decided to go and retrieve Smoke's body, see if he can use his cybernetics for his own nefarious purposes. Noob broke into the Tomb of Warriors and, after much tinkering, managed to reactivate Smoke. He was impressed as he saw Smoke's cybernetics make repairs across his body, soon he was fully healed. Reprogramming Smoke to obey him, the cyborg soon found himself on the side of Darkness once more. Smoke helped Noob create cybernetics to enhance the Shadow Warriors, creating a small army of cyber-demons.

After Shujinko's funeral at the end of _Deception_, Sub-Zero journeyed back towards the Lin Kuei Temple. On his way, he was ambushed by a legion of Shadow Warriors and taken to the Netherrealm. He was brought before Noob and Smoke, the former gloating about how his new ally. Noob tried also changing Sub-Zero into a Shadow Warrior, but Sub-Zero managed to escape. He tried desperately to get through to both his brother and friend, telling them that he can still sense the people they used to be within and giving an impassioned speech towards the two. Since they are still evil in the present, obviously Sub-Zero failed. He escaped back to Earthrealm and began making preparations for if Noob ever showed up again. This apparently isn't the first Shadow Warrior attack on the Lin Kuei, it's happened a few times over the last 6 months.

Back in the present, Sub-Zero and Noob Saibot begin fighting. Liu Kang, Cyrax, and Rain work together with the remaining Lin Kuei Ninjas to fight the Shadow Warriors. Taven is about to join them, when he is tackled by Smoke. He tries to inject nanomachines into Taven, but he manages to knock Smoke away. The two fight, with Taven emerging victorious. He thinks it is best to kill Smoke, but Sub-Zero yells at Taven to leave him alive. Sub-Zero manages to defeat Noob, who rants about once again failing to defeat him. He says it is because, deep down, he does not wish to fight him. They were brothers once and that he wishes that his past self would have tried harder to help Noob find his former self. He tells Noob that he has been in contact with someone who has been researching away to restore him back to Bi-Han, offering his hand to Noob. Saibot just knocks the hand away and summons a large black fog. When the fog clears, him, Smoke, and the Shadow Warriors are gone. Liu Kang and Cyrax try to comfort Sub-Zero, but he stops them as he says that he is getting closer to restoring his brother. He stares back at the spot Noob was, hearing Sub-Zero's thoughts on how he could feel a sense of conflict in the wraith. Maybe he's been getting through to his brother more than he thought.

Turning his attention back to Taven and the others, Sub-Zero asks if Taven is now in the mood to explain everything. Satisfied with the story Taven provides, he decides to join him and his old allies on his quest. Sub-Zero joins the party!

Taven and Liu Kang wonder what they should do next, when Sub-Zero suddenly speaks up. He has been eyeing Taven's dragon birthmark for a long time, as it seemed very familiar. Sub-Zero has realized that he has seen that birthmark before. Taven is surprised and quickly demands Sub-Zero tell him what he knows. The Ice ninja takes them to his trophy room, where he has a Red Dragon uniform on display. He has encountered the clan in the past and he shows them the back of the uniform. It's the icon of the Red Dragon, which somehow looks 100% identical to Taven's birthmark. The heroes are shocked and intrigued at this, while Taven looks on in disbelief. He asks Sub-Zero to tell them where they can find the Red Dragon,. Taven has a hunch this is more than just a coincidence, believing they should go and interrogate the Red Dragon. Sub-Zero pulls a map and marks where his scouts believe the Red Dragon's HQ to be, Charred Mountain, located in Western Japan. He tells Taven that he has a good friend and retired Lin Kuei ninja named Yang Kun, who lives in Hong Kong. A nautical man these days, he can provide them with a fast ship that they can use to get to Japan. Putting the temple in care of his elite warriors, Sub-Zero leaves with the group for Hong Kong.

The five eventually make their way to the bustling land of Hong Kong, arriving just in time for sunset. They get some strange looks from the civilians which, considering what the five look like, that's not a surprise. Not liking the unwanted attention, they take a refugee in a seedy-looking hotel. Cyrax and Rain decide to stay behind and rest. Taven, Liu Kang, and Sub-Zero switch into attire that won't make them stand out so much, then go out looking for the Kun.

Sub-Zero leads them to the Sai Kung district, where Kun lives. Night falls as the three travel, soon passing by a famous museum. Liu Kang suddenly hears something and quickly eyes at the roof of a building next to the museum. He sees a figure in black in the moonlight leap and climb the side of the museum and go on top of the roof. Taven and Sub-Zero ask what's wrong, as they notice that Liu Kang has stopped walking. Kang heads towards the museum without saying a word, Taven and Sub-Zero quickly following after him.

In the museum, we see a figure in black with a large bow, making his way pass the security systems. The figure uses his bow to knock out cameras and other security devices as they make their way to their target. In a glass case, sits a small statue of the Great Kung Lao, said to have been made by the monk's wife, long ago. Contrasting with the finesse from before, the figure just smashes the case with his bow, setting off the alarm. He grabs the statue and slips it into his bag, convinced he can escape before the police arrive. However, a voice speaks up and tells the thief that this is as far as he goes.

Taven and the others have arrived, Liu Kang calling out to the thief and tells the man to face them. The thief chuckles and asks if Liu Kang knows who he is, the latter admitting the bow was a dead giveaway. The figure in black turns around, revealing himself to be none other then Kung Jin. Kang, notably shocked and disappointed, asks why Jin is here in Hong Kong and why he has turned to petty theft. Kung Jin, in a frustrated tone, says that the Shaolin that he looked up to and learned from all his life have betrayed him. He no longer cares about the Shaolin ways and doesn't care what Liu Kang thinks about him now, he will live as he sits fit. Liu Kang tried reasoning with Jin, asking what Kung Lao would think, seeing his dear cousin go down this path. Jin just says that Lao is dead to him, which actually manages to make Liu Kang legitimately upset and angry at Jin. He tries to interrogate Kung Jin about what happened between him and Lao, but Jin refuses to answer. The two seem ready to fight, when they hear police arrive. Jin quickly flees before the others can grab them and the police enter the room, believing that the three heroes stole the statue. With no other choice, the three fight and defeat the police officers before making their own escape. They sneak out the back and stealthily make their way past all the police. Liu Kang wonders what exactly happened between Jin and Lao during the 6 months they were gone and Taven tries to comfort him.

The three soon arrive in the residential area, that Sub-Zero says is where they can find Kun. Sub-Zero locates what he believes is Kun's house and knocks on the door. Instead of the old friend he was expecting, the door is answered by a young adult woman. She introduces herself as Yang Lei, asking how she could help them. Taven asks if Yang Kun lives here and, pointing to Sub-Zero, this guy knows him and says that he can help the three of them. Lei calls out to grandfather, who grumbles about who could be bothering him at this hour, but his demandor quickly changes when he recognizes Sub-Zero at the door. He runs up and bows to Kuai Liang, saying that it is so great to see him. Seeing the look in Sub-Zero's face, Kun realizes that he is here on business and asks what he needs. Sub-Zero says it is best to discuss inside, with Kun leading them to the dining room while asking Lei to fetch some food for their additional guests. Taven wonders what he means by "additional" and Kun tells him they've had two other guests living here for about 5 months now. Liu Kang asks who are those two when none other then Chen Ying, Kung Lao's longtime lover, enters the dining room. She is both shocked and overjoyed to see Liu Kang, saying Kung Lao will be happy to see him after so long. Kang asks where is Lao and why the two are here in Hong Kong, but Ying just says that Lao won't be back until morning and it would be better to wait then to explain everything. Meanwhile, Sub-Zero explains their need for Kun's ship. Kun tells Sub-Zero that it's quite sudden, but he'll try to see if he can make the necessary arrangements tomorrow. We learn more about Yang Kun's past. He trained alongside Sub-Zero's father and the two knew each other, but Kun wouldn't exactly call them friends. Kun was a figure during Bi-Han and Kuai Liang's childhood, but he would soon disappear. While he trained hard, Kun was never up to snuff with the Lin Kuei standard so he went into early retirement. Once Sub-Zero took over the Lin Kuei, he reconnected with Kun and the two have been good pals for years. The heroes have a decent meal, bond with Kun, Ying, and Lei, then get a good night's rest. Meanwhile, Cyrax and Rain are probably wondering what's taking them so long.

Early the following morning, the heroes wake up and head to the dining room for breakfast. Soon after, a weary Kung Lao opens the front door and enters. He seems ready to say something to Kun and Ying, when he notices the presence of the heroes. Lao is taken aback by this, but switches to a more jovial tune as he walks over to greet Liu Kang, whom he hadn't seen since the end of _Deception_. The two monks catch up and everyone enjoys a hearty breakfast. After the meal, Taven feels it is finally time to ask Lao about Jin. Liu Kang turns and asks Lao what exactly happened in the time he was gone. Kung Lao's previously happy mood sinks to a regretful frown. He goes silent for a few minutes, before Lao suddenly starts choking on tears. He finally begins to explain everything.

After the role he played in the battle against Onaga and in restoring him, Kung Lao suggested that Jin join him in the secret White Lotus Society. Jin had considered applying for a while and was planning on it, before the events of _Deadly Alliance_ and _Deception_ got in the way of that. Upon returning to the Temple, Master Kung Lao gathered the 4 elders of the White Lotus and called Kung Jin to his chambers. They were to judge together whether or not he is worthy of a place among them. Everything was going well, until….it happened. Who brought the evidence to light and why, they do not know. One of the elders was provided the proof of Kung Jin's "provocatvies." When questioned about these, Kung Jin refused to say anything. The only ones who knew about these beforehand were Kung Lao and Liu Kang, as Jin had revealed them to the two a couple years prior and they had kept it secret at Jin's request. Lao tried to argue a case for Jin, but it fell on deaf ears. The final vote was 4-1, Jin was rejected from joining the White Lotus Society.

This was just a start of the rough times for Jin. He was ostracized by the Elders, monks and fellow students distanced themselves from him. Not every single one did this, a few of Jin's close friends supported him. Eventually, Kung Jin could not stand this anymore. Feeling betrayed and that the Shaolin were no longer the people he idolized all his life, he left. No letter explaining why he left, nothing taken from his room except his bow, Kung Jin just completely abandoned the temple.

Jin's sudden disappearance was the final straw for Kung Lao. Disgusted with his shaolin brethren, he decided to leave the White Lotus and rescind his position of Master. Taking Chen Ying with him, the two began searching the country for Kung Jin. After several months of no leads, they got word that a person whose description seemed to match Jin was seen heading towards Hong Kong. That's why they are here, they are looking for Jin. As mentioned in _Shaolin Monks_, Ying made some friends here during her apprenticeship at the fashion studio. Yang Lei was one of these friends. She was able to arrange the two to stay with her and Kun while they searched.

Kung Lao is noticeably much more angry after telling all this, cursing his Shaolin brothers for their actions. He says they judged him for what his heart desires, rather then for what's in it. Taven tells Lao about how their encounter with Jin at the museum. Lao isn't surprised, because the same rumors that told them about Jin heading to Hong Kong also said that he had become a thief to make ends meet. Lao thinks about to how he once acted like a big brother to Jin, now he is hated by the same boy he once loved and cared for. He also doesn't blame Jin for hating him now, as he feels that he failed Jin and that he should have stood up for him more after his rejection. Lao calls himself a failure of a shaolin monk and doesn't deserve to be called one of Earthrealm's warriors, even after the others try telling him otherwise. Taven speaks up, telling Lao all about their quest. He can prove that he isn't a failure and join him in his quest, maybe they'll encounter Kung Jin along the way. Lao initially says no, but is encouraged by Lei, Kun, and Ying to join them. Liu Kang kneels before Kung Lao and pulls out his Warrior Medal that they received way back in _Shaolin Monks_. Kang says that no matter what happens, no matter the mistakes or failures that occur, he will always have the heart and spirit of a warrior. Kung Lao slowly stands up, walks over to a drawer, opens it, and pulls out his Warrior Medal. He frowns at it for a moment, but that quickly turns to a smile as he puts the medal on his belt. Lao, Kang, and Taven bow to each other before Lao says that yeah, he's in. Kung Lao has joined the party!

After a week of waiting, Kun finally has a ship available to take the crew to Japan. The group, Cyrax and Rain have now rejoined, head to the harbor to inspect the ship. They are less than impressed as it is nothing more than a dainty tour boat. Turns out that is why Kun has so many ships and why he had to make arrangements, he runs very popular boat tours. The group is mostly displeased, as Sub-Zero made it seem like they would have a grand ship to take them quickly to Japan. Regardless, they decide to make due with what they got and begin loading supplies for the trip.

While the others prepare, Liu Kang suddenly wanders off and sits on the edge of the pier. Taven and Kung Lao join him in silently watching the sunrise. After a while, Kang speaks about how he was reminiscing. This is the very same harbor where he boarded a ship to Shang Tsung's Island, a little more than 10 and a half years ago. He talks about how much crazy stuff has happened, the battles they've had, his murder, him being brought back as an unholy abomination, the usual stuff. While Lao and Kang enjoy themselves on old stories, Taven just listens and occasionally chuckles. He eventually begins telling his own stories of his training with Daegon back in the old days. Him and Daegon were apparently extremely close to each other, though their sibling rivalry could occasionally get a bit out of hand. He wonders how Daegon is doing right now and the progress he has made on his side of the quest. The three bond over their little talk, until Sub-Zero calls them over as they are ready to set off. Kun, Lei, and Ying see the heroes off as their dinky ship sails away from the harbor.

After days of sailing, the western coast of Japan finally closes in on the horizon. Sub-Zero, who is piloting the boat, is talking with Taven about the country. Once they land on the shore, it should only be roughly a two day journey to Charred Mountain. Taven is happy to hear the news, as the sooner he can question these mysterious Red Dragons, the better. Kung Lao looks around and comments on the pleasant weather, while also remarking on how it has been a rather uneventful voyage to Japan. Almost immediately afterwards, a loud thunderstorm rolls in, waves toss the ship around, and it's then obliterated by a strange, red thunderbolt.

Taven managed to survive the ship's explosion, clinging to a piece of debris. He was eventually thrown on the western shoreline of Japan. After catching his breath, Taven looked around and tried to find any of his friends. He walked down the beach for over an hour, seeing no one. While heading back to where he had washed up, he spots Liu Kang, unconscious, in a shallow area of the water. Kang regains his senses, just as the two are surrounded by Red Dragon goons. The two are able to repel the initial assault, but are forced to run and hide after they hear more approaching. Finding a good spot, they wait and listen to their talk. Listening to the goons, they learn that, thankfully, the others survived the destruction of their ship. Unfortunately, they were rescued and taken prisoner by the Red Dragon. One of the goons, who seems to be of higher rank, decides the two aren't worth pursuing and orders everyone back to Charred Mountain. The goons begin to depart, Taven and Liu Kang decided to follow them back to their hideout.

The Red Dragon goons soon arrive at the base of Charred Mountain, a once active volcano that has been dormant for centuries. They begin climbing the treacherous paths, deep into the mountain range, with Taven and Liu Kang following in secret.

Soon, the two arrive at an opening in the mountainside. They take cover behind a boulder as the two wait for the goons to open the front gate of their hideout. Taven and Kang discuss how they are going to get pass the goons once they open the door, when suddenly one of the goons goes flying by them, off the mountain. Taven and Kang do a double take, before looking around the boulder and back at the goons. We see none other then Kenshi, fighting all the goons by his lonesome. He runs some through with his sword, telekinetic slams goons together or against the mountain, or throws them off the mountain entirely. After single handedly taking care of the goons, Kenshi senses the duo with his PSI and calls them forth. Taven is surprised at the proficiency of the blind warrior, so Liu Kang fills him in on Kenshi. He turns and asks Kenshi what he's doing here. So, it's flashback time!

As you may recall, back in _Deadly Alliance_, Kenshi actually had a run in with Mavado, who was a member of the Red Dragon. He was badly beaten by Mavado and left for dead in Outworld, but Sub-Zero saved him. After joining the heroes against Onaga in _Deception_, Kenshi has spent the last 6 months acting his grand revenge on the Red Dragon. He has been hunting down their bases, foiling their schemes, and slaughtered many of their great soldiers. Kenshi will stop at nothing until he finds Mavado and, more importantly, the Red Dragon's leader.

Of course, this made Kenshi a high priority enemy of the clan. After numerous assassination attempts against the blind warrior failed, they began going after his family. He didn't have much family, most of his blood relatives he either doesn't know or they died when he was young. The only loved ones he has are his wife Suchin and his son, Takeda.

We learn a bit more about Suchin and Kenshi during this flashback. In 1990, 3 years after Kenshi's fateful encounter with Shang Tsung, his journey to find the sorcerer took him to Lampang, Thailand. At this point, Kenshi hasn't completely mastered Sendo's training and still has trouble fighting blind (doesn't help that he has no psychic powers at this point). This gets him into trouble when he ends up fighting a street gang that were in the process of robbing a drug store. He gets his ass kicked, when Suchin joined in and saved him. The two were able to repel the gang together, afterwards Kenshi collapsed from his injuries. Suchin helped tend to his wounds and provided him a place to stay while he was in Thailand. Kenshi learned new tactics and techniques from Suchin, including improving his senses and awareness of the surroundings to help workaround his blindness. The two ended up falling in love and would later elope. Kenshi eventually left Thailand to continue his search for Shang Tsung, but would often return to spend time with Suchin. In 2000, they had a child that they named Takeda.

About a month ago, Kenshi returned to Thailand. He was horrified to discover a wrecked home, Suchin's lifeless corpse, and a hastily written letter. It was from Mavado, who taunted Kenshi about ruining his happy little home. The Red Dragon have not only killed his wife, but also kidnapped Takeda. He taunts Kenshi to come rescue them, he'll be waiting at Charred Mountain. Seething with rage, Kenshi made his way over to the mountain as fast as he could.

Also, while that flashback was going on, Taven and Liu Kang explained their story to Kenshi so that the player doesn't listen to more exposition. Kang asks if Kenshi will join them, but he just remains silent. Kenshi walks over to the Red Dragon's door, slashes off the lock, and opens the door. He then nods to the duo, before heading inside the lair. Taven and Liu Kang smile at each other, before going in. Kenshi has joined the party!

The Red Dragon Caverns would be the second major dungeon of the game. The main goal here would be rescuing each one of your allies, Cyrax, Rain, Sub-Zero, and Kung Lao. They would be trapped in a cell room at four different points of the dungeon. The player could rescue them in any order the player wants, but there is a fifth cell room that can only be accessed after rescuing all 4 characters. Since Kenshi has joined us, maybe we could have some puzzles that require his psychic powers to solve.

After rescuing all four allies, the group decides to investigate the fifth cell room as they hope Takeda is there. Entering the room, they instead find an unlikely prisoner. It's none other then Kano, who was brought here after he was beaten by Mavado in _Deadly Alliance_. Taven breaks him out and Cyrax, noticing something weird about Kano, scans him. His analysis reveals the Kano has been experimented on, his blood contains traces of Dragon and Saurian DNA. The Australian tells the group that the Red Dragon have been trying to create human and dragon hybrids, they were using him as a guinea pig. Kano is naturally pissed over what he views as "torture" and wants to go kick Mavado's arse. When Taven mentions that he needs to interrogate the leader, Kano decides to he'll tagalong as this will give him the chance to fight Mavado. Kano has joined the party!

He leads the group deep into the caverns, down a long stone staircase. At the bottom, they mind a large electronic door that Kano says protects the leader's throne room. Kano hacks the lock and is able to open the door. It slowly opens and we get a shot of the throne room. We see a bunch of Red Dragon goons and Mavado, listening to the Leader's orders. Hearing the door open, they turn to face the heroes. The heroes and Red Dragon prepare to fight, when Taven suddenly and slowly walks past the heroes. He seems to be in a stage of shock, as he looks at the Red Dragon's leader. Before he can say anything, the Leader says "It is good to see you again, brother." The leader is none other than Daegon. The goons and Mavado move aside as Daegon stands from his throne, then he approaches him. Taven gives his brother a good look over, noticing just how much he has changed since they were put to slumber. Regaining his wits, Taven grabs Daegon and begins interrogating him. Daegon tosses his brother aways and uppercuts him. He says that Taven overslept, he has been out of his slumber for 300 years now. He has made some decent progress on his quest, while Taven has barely done anything. Daegon pulls out his dual drakenswords, telling Taven that their parents provided him with some fine gifts. This makes Taven realize that what he thought was true, Daegon visited the Temple of Argus first and took both gifts. Daegon then refuses to say anything else and attacks Taven. Meanwhile, Mavado directs the others attention to something off to the side. It's 3-year old Takeda, tied up in some sort of death trap. Takeda screams for Kenshi, who tries to help, but is stopped by Mavado and a wall of goons. This segment would have a time limit. Take too long, Takeda dies and the player will have to start over from a previous checkpoint.A fight breaks out as the goons and Mavado attack the other heroes. The player would get the option to fight Mavado with either Kano or Kenshi, since they both have good reasons to fight him. The one the player doesn't pick will instead join the others in fighting the goons.

If the player picked Kano, he will brag about his triumph over the Red Dragon cronie. Mavado, limping weakly, just continues to mock Kano and declares that he will get his revenge. Kano says that he doesn't think so and performs his iconic Heart Rip fatality on him. Mavado would be dead for the rest of the story.

If the played picked Kenshi, he will walk over and prepare to decapitate Mavado. At the last second, he stops his blade. Mavado is surprised that Kenshi isn't going to kill him, after all that he's done to him. Kenshi declares that their score is settled and he's more interested in his leader then him. He is feeling generous and will spare Mavado, for now. If the two fight again, or if Mavado brings harm to him or his friends again, he can't guarantee that Mavado will leave that fight alive. Thus, unlike with Kano, Mavado survives the end of this fight and will take part in the Battle of Armageddon.

Taven manages to narrowly defeat Daegon. The former playfully mentions about how he's not surprised, he always defeated Daegon in spars during their training. However, Daegon finds nothing funny about this and just rants about their parent's "favorite." Taven is confused by this remark, when Daegon gets a signal on his communicator. A voice emits, telling him that they have located the Temple of Blaze. Laughing madly, Daegon blinds the heroes with a smoke grenade and escapes with Mavado, provided he survived, through a false wall. Kenshi goes and frees Takeda from the death trap, just in time as it goes off. The two hug and cry, as Takeda thanks his father over and over for saving him. The goons then flee, to gather their numbers. Liu Kang walks up to Taven and asks him if he got his answers, but Taven just remains silent.

We get a small montage flashback of Taven and Daegon's past. We see the two hanging out, training together, maybe some of the stories that Taven told Kang and Lao earlier, while he also see how less evil-looking Daegon was back then and the difference in personality between his past and present selves.

Eventually, Taven snaps out of his thoughts. He tells the group about how he wonders how Daegon became so twisted and feels that there is something sinister going on behind all this. Cyrax scans the caverns and tells them that he can't detect Daegon's signature. The others wonder if he had access to a portal to escape so quickly, when Cyrax regains their attention. He is now detecting a much larger signature, which Kano says must be the dragon Caro. Upon hearing that name, Taven rushes Kano and holds him against the wall. He angrily asks Kano why Caro is here, Kano explaining that's where the Red Dragon got the dragon DNA for the experiments. He lets go of Kano and tells him to lead them to Caro, or else he will kill him. Liu Kang and Kung Lao manage to calm Taven down and he explains that Caro was Daegon's pet dragon, much like how Orin is to him.

Kano, with the aid of Cyrax's scans, managed to lead the group to the lab where they find Caro. He is imprisoned with many chains and connected to several computers via electrical tubes. As Taven shouts out to Caro, they also hear the yells of Reptile. He is similarly all imprisoned like Caro, with Kano pointing out that is where the Saurian DNA came from. Apparently, after Onaga's soul was banished to the Netherrealm, Reptile was freed from his control and returned to normal. Not long after, he was discovered and captured by the Red Dragon.

Taven, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Kano go over to help free Caro, while the others try and free Reptile. The latter group frees Reptile, who begrudgingly thanks them. Sub-Zero tries to ask for his help, but Reptile just says he has his own problems. He turns invisible and escapes from the Caverns.

Taven manages to unhook the final tube from Caro. He cheers at saving his good friend, only to notice how sickly and weak Caro has become. Caro says he doesn't have much time left, the years upon years of experiments are to be blamed for that. Taven tries to get his questions answered before Caro passes, as there is still so much that he doesn't understand. Caro explains that everything that has happened with Daegon is all his fault.

Orin was left to watch over Taven, until Blaze gave the signal. Likewise, Caro was to do the same for Daegon. 300 years ago, Caro heard what he thought was the signal. It didn't dawn until much later that whatever he heard, it wasn't Blaze's signal. Daegon was not ready for the quest and was enraged at his parents for imprisoning him. Not listening to Caro, Daegon went out on his own to confront his parents.

Years later, Daegon would return to Caro. It turns out that shortly after he left, Daegon encountered Quan Chi. The sorcerer took him to the Netherrealm, where he met Lord Shinnok. The fallen Elder God told Daegon the truth of his quest and claimed that Taven was the one who would fulfill the quest, with the help of their parents, and become the next Protector God of Edenia. Before Caro could explain that Shinnok was lying, Daegon summoned his Red Dragon goons and captured him. He had formed the clan, whose original purpose would be to help him find Blaze.

Caro tells Taven that he must stop Daegon from finding and killing Blaze. He has a feeling that something terrible will happen if Daegon wins their quest. Taven promises Caro that he will not fail and Daegon will pay for bringing harm to him. Suddenly, the group hear Red Dragon forces heading towards him and it sounds like a big army. Caro opens a portal and tells the group to head in, he'll take care of the Red Dragon. Everyone but Taven enters, he doesn't want to abandon his friend. Caro just reiterates Taven needs to go, he'll be fine, and forces Taven through the portal. Afterwards, we get a scene where Caro obliterates the Red Dragon goons throughout the caverns, before using the last of his power to just completely explode Charred Mountain.

We see Taven land on the ground, as the portal behind him closes. He finds himself back with the others, in the Lava Caverns where we started this whole adventure. Taven can't believe that he lost Caro, a lifetime friend and ally, and also can't fathom that Daegon would do such a thing. Liu Kang and Kung Lao try to comfort Taven, as Orin appears in a puff of smoke. Orin mourns the death of his dragon brother, telling Taven that he cannot let Caro's sacrifice be in vain. Taven asks Orin if there is any way he can see Shinnok. He has a bone to pick with that pesky fallen Elder God. Orin opens a portal to the Netherrealm, informing Taven that he can find him there. The other heroes will have to wait here. Living beings can only enter the realm if they have sufficient darkness within them. Taven can enter freely since he is half-god, the only other ones who can enter are Kano, Kenshi, and Rain. Despite offering help, Taven decides to venture into the Netherrealm alone. Before Liu Kang can argue about this, Taven leaps into the portal which closes behind him. Orin assures Liu Kang and the others that Taven will be safe.

Kenshi tells Liu Kang to tell Taven why he's gone when he gets back. Kang asks where he's going, to which Kenshi responds that isn't it obvious? Now that Takeda has been rescued, he is going to get his son to somewhere safe. He promises that he'll join back up with them as soon as they can. Kenshi calls to Takeda, who begins following him outside the Lava Caves. The others wish him a safe journey as Kenshi leaves the party.

Arriving in the Netherrealm, Taven wanders around and ends up in the same town from _Deception_. He questions the locals about the whereabouts of Shinnok, most of which refuse to answer him. He eventually gets someone to give him directions to Shinnok's Spire, only for that person to get assassinated by Reiko, who is leading a squad of Brotherhood of Shadow members. Reiko says that Daegon was right, he lead Taven right into their hands. He tells Taven that if he gives himself up, he'll spare his life. Taven says he'll never surrender to vile beings like the pathetic fallen Elder God. Reiko puts his hands behind him and walks back towards his men, giving off a long, boring speech of why Taven should surrender. As he does this, Taven notices Reiko performing some Edenian sign language. After figuring out what Reiko is saying, Taven smiles and cuts off Reiko's speech. He surrenders and says that he'll go quietly. The brotherhood then approach Taven menacingly, as Reiko signals something along the line of "Sorry" with his hands as the brotherhood beat Taven unconscious and bind him.

Taven soon awakens in a dungeon, where he sees Reiko talking with some guards on the other side of the bars. The guards leave and Reiko approaches the cell. Taven remarks that he is surprised that Reiko knew Edenian sign language and we learn that Reiko's message basically said that he was a double agent and to follow his orders. Reiko, a little amused, just says that it was a skill that he picked up during his trips to Edenia.

We learn where Reiko has been since _MK4_. As stated at the end of that WP, Reiko made a Heel-Face Turn following that story and helped work out a treaty between Edenia and Outworld. He served Kotal Kahn and was an ambassador between the two realms. After Kotal was killed by the Deadly Alliance, Reiko went into hiding. He had no desire to serve under the two sorcerers and feared being put under their control, like Shinnok once did to him. It is also why he didn't get involved during the events of _Deception_. He remained in hiding after Mileena claimed the throne, until he was kidnapped by the Brotherhood of Shadow. Somehow, Shinnok had overthrown Lucifer once more and was in control of the Netherrealm again. He managed to resist Shinnok's attempt to control him, but pretended that it actually worked. Reiko has been acting as a double agent, secretly leaking information on Shinnok's activities to Kotal and Sindel.

Reiko has some important papers that need to be taken to Kotal Kahn, saying that he'll free Taven on the condition that he delivers them to Kotal. Taven accepts and takes the papers. Reiko unlocks the cell, hands Taven the key, and tells Taven to beat him up. This way, it will look why Taven broke out and defeated him. Reluctantly, Taven fights and beats Reiko up to a pulp. Before passing out, Reiko promises that he will try to meet up with him and Kotal as soon as he can. Taven heads out of the room and begins his exploration of Shinnok's Spire.

This would be the third major dungeon of the adventure. The main gimmick of the spire is the player needs to perform certain tasks, solve puzzles, or fight a gauntlet of enemies to advance to the next floor. We learn that the two oni, Moloch and Drahmin, are now working for Shinnok. The player would face Drahmin about a ⅓ of the way through the dungeon and Moloch at the ⅔ point.

Taven finally arrives at the top of Shinnok's Spire and enters the Throne Room of the fallen Elder God, which sort of resembles the one from _MK4_. Shinnok congratulates Taven for clearing his trials, recalling that Daegon took much longer to get through. Taven doesn't want any of Shinnok's pleasantries, just answers. He asks what Taven did to Daegon, but Shinnok just toys with Taven and doesn't give him any direct answers. After messing around with Taven some more, he decides to at least tell him something. 300 years ago, Shinnok learned about Argus's plan and became intrigued about this whole "Armageddon" business. He made his own signal to try and trick the dragons into freeing the brothers early. Orin wasn't fooled by the fake signal and ignored it. Caro, who was less wise then Orin, fell for it and freed Daegon. Shortly afterwards, he took in Daegon, lied to him about the quest, and molded him in his own image. He even helped direct Daegon to the Temple of Argus and get the drakesswords. Eventually, Daegon went on his own and Shinnok only contacted him again when he learned that Taven was freed. Taven naturally wants to know what Shinnok's endgame in this was, but the fallen Elder God refuses to elaborate. Taven challenges Shinnok to Mortal Kombat, which he accepts. He manages to defeat Shinnok and tells him to explain, why did he do all this? Shinnok doesn't answer again, so Taven tries to beat the answer out of him. Suddenly, Shinnok says that maybe he should stop worrying about him and instead worry about his friends. Taven asks what he means before saying that his dragon is too dangerous to keep around, he sent his sorcerer and Brotherhood of Shadow soldiers to take care of them. Taven devolves into angrish as he tosses Shinnok back into his throne. Shinnok opens a portal back to the Lava Caves, telling Taven that he can go help, but it might be too late. Taven said that the two of them aren't finished, he'll be back to end Shinnok once and for all. He jumps through the portal, which quickly closes behind him. Shinnok laughs, saying that things haven't gone exactly to plan, but it doesn't matter. Soon, he will take his position as ruler of all eternity. Suddenly, Shinnok disappears in a puff of smoke.

Taven returns to the Lava Caves, to find Orin in a critically wounded state. Not only that, the heroes are all beaten up and exhausted from some battle. Taven runs up to Liu Kang and asks what happened. Kang explains that sometime after Taven left, Quan Chi and his henchmen invaded the Lava Caves. They tried to harm Orin, but they managed to defend him for a while. Orin also helped and eradicated several of the henchmen. Taven suddenly notices that Rain is missing, asking Kang if he died. Kung Lao speaks up and reveals that just as they were tiring out, Rain turned around and betrayed them. He landed a critical blow against Orin, taking him out of the battle. Soon, the heroes were beaten and they all would have died if Orin hadn't used one last desperation attack to send the villains running. Orin then speaks to Taven, telling him that he is almost finished. Taven bursts into tears, as he already lost one dragon pal, he doesn't want to lose another. Orin says he has enough power to perform one last task for Taven, so make it quick. Remembering Reiko's words, Taven asks Orin to open a portal to Outworld so that he may find Kotal Kahn. Taven helps tend to everybody's wounds while Orin focuses his energy on opening the portal. Just as Taven finishes, Orin manages to finally open the portal to Outworld. He tells everyone to hurry, as he won't be able to keep it open for long. Everyone except Taven heads on through. He stands right at the portal, stares at Orin, and sheds a single tear. Taven tells Orin goodbye, as he too enters the portal. The portal closes, Orin slumps over, and draws his last breath.

**TO BE CONTINUED IN PART III**


	19. Wasted Plotential: Armageddon (Part 3)

The heroes emerge from the portal, finding themselves in one of the many wastelands of Outworld. Taven properly explains his encounter with Reiko and that they need to find this Kotal Kahn character as fast as possible. The one problem, he has no idea where they are in Outworld or where Kotal could possibly be. To make matters worse, everyone else seems to be in the same boat. Kano laughs and calls them helpless, saying that he'll lead the way. After all, he lived in Outworld for roughly a decade. He knows it like the back of his hand, most of it. Liu Kang asks if he has an idea of where Kotal Kahn might be, Kano responding that he's got a hunch. After getting his bearings, Kano begins leading the group northwest.

They soon arrive in a mountainous region, finding a strange walled-in city. Kano tells them this place was the hunch he mentioned. He loudly bangs on the city gate until someone finally answers. A voice calls, asking the travelers to state their name and business. Taven says he has important information for Kotal Kahn, from his agent Reiko. Intrigued, the voice peers over the gate and is revealed to be an Osh-Tekk warrior. He says that he does not recognize Taven, nor does Kotal know anyone named Taven. The warrior asks how he gained this info, so Taven explains. The Osh-Tekk is still not convinced, until Liu Kang stands up to defend Taven. He notices Kang and decides that if Taven has the backing of the Immortal Champion, then he believes they can trust Taven's story. The gate opens and the Osh-Tekk cordially welcomes them to the city of Lei Chen. The heroes head inside, but Kano is almost stopped from entering, due to his record of serving Shao Kahn in the past. Liu Kang vouches for Kano, so he is reluctantly let inside.

They are soon approached by another group of Osh-Tekk warriors, including one of Kotal's generals, who greet Liu Kang. The monk asks to see Kotal, so the group leads them over to the Lord's building and they enter. Inside, we see Kotal sitting on the Lord's throne, confirming that he has become the new Lord of Lei Chen. Kotal welcomes Liu Kang and friends, saying that it is good to see them after so long, minus Kano. Taven hands Reiko's papers to the General, who then gives them to Kotal. He reads them over very carefully, commenting that Reiko's espionage is top notch as always. We learn that one thing the info states is that Shinnok and his forces are building up in Edenia, towards some unknown goal. They don't seem to be trying to take over Edenia, but Reiko wasn't able to get Shinnok to tell him the full mission. He was just told to train and send forces to a specific point in Edenia, that's it. Regardless of the vagueness, Kotal says this is all good info and he hopes this intell will help him get back the throne. Kung Lao asks how come he hasn't got it back yet, so Kotal explains.

Kotal lost his position as Emperor of Outworld when he was murdered by the Deadly Alliance. His Osh-Tekk warriors tried to fight against the duo, but were forced to flee when the Tarkatans joined the Deadly Alliance's side.

After Kotal was restored in _Deception_, he gathered his forces and marched towards the Palace to take back his throne. However, in the time that took, Mileena claimed it and tried to slaughter Kotal with the Tarkatan Army, led by Baraka. Kotal managed to severely wound her forces, but was ultimately forced to retreat. He battled against Mileena for a couple months, until something even worse happened.

Shao Kahn had finally returned. Apparently, the Shao that the Deadly Alliance had killed was nothing more than a doppelganger. Shao Kahn had received word that the two were planning on assassinating him, so he created the fake and went into hiding with some of his elite soldiers. After training and regaining the strength he once possessed in the _MK2_/_MK3_ era, he resurfaced and confronted Mileena. She surrendered the throne, thus Shao Kahn was Emperor once more.

Don't worry, things got worse. In recent months, Shao Kahn has gained some new and unlikely allies. Shang Tsung, Quan Chi, Shinnok, and even Onaga joined his side. This is a shock to the heroes, as Shang Tsung and Quan Chi were thought to be dead after Raiden's suicide attack and Onaga's soul was banished to the Netherrealm. Taven can only guess that this is the work of Shinnok, properly telling the others about his encounter with the Elder God. Kotal continues, saying their combined forces have put him in a losing war. He was forced to flee further into Outworld, where he overthrew Hotaru and took control of Lei Chen.

Shortly after Kotal finishes, a portal opens right in the room. Out of the portal, emerges Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. Kotal's men are ready to strike the two dead, but they easily brush past them and bow to Kotal. Apparently, him and the heroes are invited by Shao Kahn to attend a feast and negotiate a peace treaty. Everyone, Kotal, Liu Kang, and Kung Lao especially, do not trust the two sorcerers at all, Kotal telling them to leave immediately or they're dead. Tsung says they aren't taking no for an answer and snaps his fingers. From the portal emerges two tarkatans, who are holding Kitana. Liu Kang gets pissed and asks how they captured her, Shang Tsung saying it was pretty easy. He just had to use Kang's human form and, trick the Princess into believing Kang was alive again. Tsung comments that he doesn't get what Kang sees in her, mirroring similar dialogue from Tanya in _MK4_. Kang shouts at Tsung to let her go, but Quan Chi says she will only be freed if they accept their invitation. Taven takes the initiative and tells the sorcerers that they will go. The two sorcerers smile and take Kitana back through the portal, telling the heroes to enter as soon as they are ready. Liu Kang almost rushes straight into the portal, but Kotal restrains him. He tells the heroes this is obviously some sort of trap and to keep their wits. Kotal enters the portal and, after a minute, waves back through for the group to enter.

The heroes find themselves at the edge of a long dining room in Shao Kahn's Palace. At the other end, they see Onaga talking to Shinnok, with Rain sitting nearby. Shang Tsung and Quan Chi have chained Kitana up to a pillar. Noticing the group, Shinnok welcomes the heroes and motions them to all take a seat. Cautiously, everyone sits down as Shao Kahn and some soldiers bring everyone food and drink. Naturally, none of the heroes trust the villains enough to actually consume anything, despite Shinnok's word that they did nothing to the food. Taven tries to question them, but all the villains do is eat and drink.

After a long feast, Shinnok decides it is finally time to explain why they brought them here. He wants to form an alliance with the heroes, which immediately gets a laugh out of them. Kung Lao says it's crazy for them to expect that they'll join the Forces of Darkness, but Shinnok asks to let him finish.

Shinnok asks Taven if he knows what Blaze's true purpose is. When he admits that he doesn't know, Shinnok explains. Blaze was created as an answer to his mother's visions. She foresaw the end of all reality, the cataclysm known as Armageddon. Delia created Blaze with the help of the Elder Gods and is the ultimate goal of his and Daegon's little game. Whoever defeats Blaze will determine the fate of the realms. One possible outcome is that the kombatants will lose all their powers, the other outcome is that they will lose their lives. However, unbeknownst to Argus and Delia, this is not the only outcome possible. Shinnok used a Pool of Prophecies to see as many possible outcomes for the Battle of Armageddon as he could. He ended up watching over 600,000 futures and gained a great insight to the event. He did see two futures where Taven beat Blaze and one where Daegon defeats Blaze. But every other future saw either another kombatant defeat Blaze and claim the ultimate prize, or showed the end of reality through various means. The Pool refused to tell Shinnok which outcome was supposed to occur in their timeline, which made him genuinely nervous. Shinnok has been gathering allies to join him in the fateful battle and this is where the heroes come in. He says that they must in ensure that whoever gains Blaze's prize uses it properly to prevent these countless bad futures. Shinnok says they will defend him while he fights Blaze and he'll use the power to make sure they don't come to past. He asks if they heroes will join him in this, leading to a long silence. Taven speaks up, saying what he was saying was alright until that part where he said HE will get Blaze's power. Needless to say, no one's gonna trust the fallen Elder God to uphold his word. Liu Kang agrees, saying that Shinnok will just use it to fulfill his dream of becoming the Ruler of All Eternity. Taven also brings up what Shinnok said to him during his visit in the Netherrealm.

Onaga speaks up, saying that they must trust Shinnok, he is a man of his word. Kung Lao questions how Onaga can think that, so the Dragon King says it's because Shinnok saved him from the imprisonment that THEY put him in.

Onaga's soul was trapped in the Well of Lost Souls, for seemingly all eternity. This was until Shinnok stumbled upon him. He had just escaped from Lucifer and lost his forces. Onaga made the presence of his soul gain Shinnok's attention and the two struck a deal. Shinnok revived Onaga and the two were able to overthrow Lucifer, putting Shinnok back as the Ruler of the Netherrealm. After the whole mess with the Pool, Shinnok revived Shang Tsung and Quan Chi for them to join his alliance. Together, they were able to "persuade" Shao Kahn to also join their side.

He tells the heroes that they will join them to halt Armageddon or they will all die. Taven and Liu Kang say that they think they'll be able to handle the situation, thanking them for the invitation, and tells the other heroes that it is time to go. Shinnok asks if that is their final answer, Taven says that it is. Shao Kahn tells them it is a shame and yells out a loud call. A squad of Tarkatans, Outworld soldiers, alongside Baraka and Mileena enter the room. Onaga tells the heroes that now they know their plans and refuse to help, they cannot leave this place alive. Shao Kahn orders his troops to finish them, thus a fight breaks out.

Liu Kang and Kung Lao go to free Kitana, only to be attacked by Baraka and Mileena. Kang tries to convince the two that Shinnok cannot be trusted, but they are too driven by hatred and insanity to listen. After all they've been through thanks to the heroes, they just want them dead and don't care who they have to side with to get that chance. The two monks defeat them and free Kitana. Liu Kang and Kitana embrace, so happy to see each other after such a long time. Kitana apologizes that she ever fell for Shang Tsung's tricks, saying that she should have known something was up but let her emotions get the best of her. Liu Kang tells her that it's alright, but their little reunion is interrupted by Shang Tsung himself. Kang is ready to fight him, until Kitana tells Kang that she'll handle it. Kang and Lao go over to help the others while Kitana approaches Tsung. The sorcerer mocks her for falling for his treachery and also asks how she'll defeat him, when she couldn't even defeat Quan Chi. Kitana says that her powers have doubled since their last encounter and that this time, Tsung will die for good. Kitana defeats Shang Tsung and is prepared to kill him, until she is suddenly attacked by an Outworld soldier. This allows Tsung to sneak off, only to run right into Liu Kang, who knocks him out with a flaming punch.

Taven approaches Quan Chi and tackles the sorcerer, recalling how Orin told him that he led the attack against him. Quan Chi says that he was ordered by Daegon to kill Orin, as he is in their alliance as well. After learning about Charred Mountain's destruction by Caro, Daegon wanted Orin dead as a safety measure for their alliance. Enraged, Taven challenges and defeats Quan Chi in a brutal battle. He finishes off Quan Chi with a good old Falcon Punch, through the chest, saying that a vile being like him deserves nothing less then death. Immediately afterwards, Taven is blasted away via an energy attack from Shinnok. The fallen Elder God remarks how inconvenient it is that Quan Chi is dead again, resurrecting people is always a pain. He quips that maybe he'll bring him back as revenant, it's much easier and they tend to be more obedient. Liu Kang goes over to help Taven and the two prepare to fight Shinnok, but he just sends Rain in to fight. The player would have the choice of who will fight Rain, while the other will fight Shinnok.

If Taven fights Rain, he will begin by questioning the purple ninja on why he betrayed them. Not surprisingly, Rain hates his relatives for rejecting and abandoning him all those years ago. He calls himself superior to Taven and Daegon, he should be the one who gets Blaze's prize. Rain was approached sometime ago by Raiden, who revealed Taven and Daegon's quest to Rain. He offered Rain that if he helped the alliance, he would ensure that Rain gain his rightful position as not only King of Edenia, but also its Protector God. Taven is shocked that Raiden would be aligned with the bad guys, but Rain attacks before he can question the ninja further. After defeating Rain, Taven looks over and sees Liu Kang fighting Shinnok, quickly heading over to join him.

Meanwhile, Liu Kang asks Shinnok if he seriously thought any of this would work. Shinnok repeats that although the stuff about him claiming Blaze's power seems sketchy, he IS telling the truth about the chance that the Battle has high odds of bringing about the apocalypse. Liu Kang admits that he isn't sure how this will all end, but anything will be better than Shinnok winning the prize and conquering the universe, enslaving all its inhabitants. Shinnok asks if Kang is serious about that remark, he probably would think differently if he saw his own potential fates in the Pool of Prophecies. Kang tells Shinnok to shut up, that he will determine his future and doesn't care about his prophecy crap. Shinnok asks if Kang actually believes he can defeat him, mocking his zombie status. Liu Kang goes into Firebrand state, claiming that this will more then make up for his weaker base power. The fallen Elder God says we'll see about that and the two battle. Liu Kang just narrowly emerges victorious over Shinnok and we get a better showing of how much weaker Zombie Kang is over Human Kang.

If Liu Kang fights Rain, he will begin by remarking to Rain that he really doesn't like traitors. Rain asks if one was responsible for killing him. Liu Kang says no, but they almost did. He asks why Rain betrayed them and we get the same exposition from above. Kang pauses at hearing Raiden's name, wondering the full extent of what Raiden has been doing the last 6 months. He tells Rain that there is no way that the Edenians will accept a ruler like him. Rain says if they are willing to take back Sindel, after what she did, then those stupid Edenians will take anyone. Liu Kang accuses him of only wanting the power of the throne, which Rain readily admits. The two fight, Liu Kang emerging the winner, of course. After knocking out Rain, he goes over to join Taven.

Meanwhile, Taven says to Shinnok that he beat him once, he can do it again. Shinnok laughs and claims that what he thought was just one of his dopplegangers, he doesn't know his real power. They have a different version of the dialogue in the Kang version above. Taven says that whatever game Shinnok is playing, him and Daegon will be his pawns no longer. Shinnok tells Taven that he shouldn't be so sure of that, the game is far from over. The two fight, Taven just narrowly winning over Shinnok.

Regardless of who fought who, the one who fought Rain runs up just as the other defeats Shinnok. Onaga gets the jump on them, grabbing the two, and hurling them into the wall. The Dragon King, slightly bemused at Shinnok's failures, remarks how Shinnok's plan has worked out quite nicely. The fallen Elder God admits that it was worth a try, but they can't focus on it right now. He opens a portal and yells at his allies to fall back. They flee through the portal, Shinnok yelling that they will meet again at the Battle of Armageddon. The heroes try to follow them...only for a large crackle of red lighting to send them all flying away from the portal, while also creating a large cloud of red smoke.

The smoke clears to reveal, who else, Dark Raiden. Taven confronts the Thunder God, angrily ranting at Raiden about what he was thinking joining Shinnok's side. Liu Kang also approaches, saying how this could possibly benefit Earthrealm's safety. Raiden tells them that a couple months ago, Shao Kahn mysteriously appeared to Raiden in his Sky Temple. He lured Raiden to the Netherrealm, where Shinnok told him about Armageddon, as well as Taven and Daegon's quest. Raiden had known about the quest for ages, having been informed about it by the Elder Gods long ago. As such, he didn't really care what he had to say and was prepared to leave. That was until Shinnok offered to ensure Earth's safety, first by revealing that Shao Kahn would abandon Earthrealm if he agreed to join their alliance and save reality. Liu Kang interrupts, saying that there is no way that Shao Kahn would actually do that. Raiden agrees, but he has his own reasons for joining Shinnok that he won't say right now. He is feeling merciful, so he will let them live for now. Raiden prepares to head through the portal, until Liu Kang stops him.

Liu Kang wants an answer, to a question that he has had for a long while now. Raiden basically says "Why not?" and decides to answer Kang's inquiry. Kang's question is simple, why did he turn his corpse into an undead, rampaging zombie? That was a mystery that had been plaguing Liu Kang, ever since Raiden let it slip in _Deception_. Raiden, after a brief pause, says the answer is simple. Everything that has happened is Liu Kang's fault. Kung Lao stands up, saying that is an outrageous allegation, but Raiden yells for everyone to be silent as he summons a loud roar of thunder.

While Raiden was reforming in the Heavens, he had a lot of time to think things over. Besides the idea that he had gotten soft, there was another thing that Raiden realized. Everything that had happened in _Deadly Alliance_ onwards was the fault of Liu Kang. He brings up the main reason for this is Liu Kang's refusal to kill. Liu Kang was murdered through the combined efforts of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi. This atrocity could not have happened if Liu Kang had killed the two sorcerers during his previous confrontations with them. He could have killed Quan Chi when they fought at Raiden's Sky Temple, but all he did was knock him out. Kang fought Shang Tsung a grand total of FIVE times before his death. Once after the Mortal Kombat Tournament, again at the Outworld Tournament, twice during Shao Kahn's invasion, and then one last time at the Wu Shi Academy, before Quan Chi sneak attacked Kang and you know how things went from there. Liu Kang defeated Shang Tsung five times, but never took his life after any one of those victories. If Liu Kang had killed just one of the two, the Deadly Alliance would never have been formed, they never would have revived the Dragon King's Army, the majority of Earth's heroes wouldn't have been killed and resurrected as Onaga's mind controlled minions, he would have never had to risk a suicide attack, Onaga wouldn't have come so close to taking over the realms via the Kamidogu, and of course, Liu Kang would still be alive. Raiden remarks that it's a bitter irony. The strongest Earthrealm warrior, the undisputed Immortal Champion of Mortal Kombat, and the Chosen One, is a man who was raised to respect all life. Raiden had time to ponder this while he was reforming and eventually made the decision that if Liu Kang was resurrected, by the Elder Gods or through some other means, it would just lead to the same problems down the line. That's when, Raiden got an idea.

After his reforming was complete, Raiden went to the ancient temple of the Houan. They were a tribe of necromancers that Raiden had wiped out centuries ago. Using their ancient scriptures and enchantments, he brought back Liu Kang's body as his undead servant. This way, Raiden could have their Champion back, but without his morals to hold him back. His plan was to have him fight and kill anyone that Raiden commanded him to, but Nightwolf got in the way of that by giving Kang control of his undead body.

Liu Kang is taken aback by all this, wondering if Raiden is right about this being his fault. Kung Lao and Sub-Zero defend Liu Kang's pacifism, while Kitana joins despite not necessarily agreeing with his principles. Everyone else though, seems a bit uncomfortable. They don't agree that this is Liu Kang's fault, but they do disagree with his refusal to kill.

Taven decides to stand up and tell Raiden off, saying that him acting like he has the high ground is ludicrous when he's helping Shinnok win Armageddon. Raiden claims that Shinnok will not win, that he can ensure them. Taven doesn't care what Raiden has to say and the two seem ready to fight.

Liu Kang approaches and tells Taven to stand down, this is his fight. Raiden tells Liu Kang that the undead Champion cannot stand to his ruthlessness, but Kang reminds Raiden that he defeated him before, he can do it again. Kang goes into Firebrand state and the two fight. If Liu Kang didn't fight Shinnok, then this is the point where we get a better idea of him being weaker then he was while alive.

Kang manages to defeat Raiden, who isn't too happy at his loss. The monk asks Raiden to explain himself, what exactly is his endgame if he isn't going to help Shinnok win. Raiden reveals that he plans on betraying the alliance at the last second, claim Blaze's prize, and use his power to destroy all realms but Earthrealm. That way, the Earth will never be under threat from anyone ever again. This naturally, horrifies and disgusts everyone. Taven and Kung Lao point out he is putting innocent realms in the crossfire, but Raiden replies that the ends justify the means. One must believe in this principle if they are to get anything done. Even Kano is willing to call out Raiden, saying that he's nothing more than a nutjob now.

Liu Kang interrupts, basically says what Raiden said was a load of bull, and then launches into "The Reason You Suck" speech. He mentions how he hated Raiden when he first met him in _MK1_. The Thunder God was arrogant, called mortals pathetic, and showed little regard for Earth's plight. But his encounters with him and the other heroes would later lead him down the path of self-betterment, something Raiden himself would later tell Liu Kang. By Shao Kahn's invasion, Raiden had changed. He became genuinely interested in protecting the realm and began caring for the mortals for the first time in ages. Raiden would even come to regret his past actions, such as nearly wiping out the Saurians to stop Shinnok. Liu Kang began looking up to Raiden, who would then mentor him for the years leading up to his death. Now, Raiden has abandoned all that and is back to being ruthless protector. He tells Raiden that he isn't angry at his regression, just sad and disappointed to see his friend go back down this path.

Raiden asks if Kang plans on killing him, but Kang tells him no. He can sense that there is still a sliver of light in Raiden, buried underneath a mountain of cynicism and anger. Raiden did have enough humanity to be willing to spare them, so he has hope that the old Raiden may return. Besides, it would be a bit pointless considering he would just reform in the Heavens. Raiden stands up, telling Kang that they will likely fight again at Armageddon. Taven notes that Raiden being killed there and having to reform will likely cause a delay long enough to prevent him from winning and claiming Blaze's prize. Raiden questions if Liu Kang would actually kill him under those circumstances, if he's not changed by then. Liu Kang remains silent, clenching his fists and looking visibly conflicted. He turns his back to Raiden, saying that if it will end his madness and save the realms, then so be it.

Raiden then blasts everyone away with his lighting and dashes through the portal. Taven dives towards the portal, only for it to close just before he enters. He curses Raiden and wonders what they are supposed to do now, as it seems they are stranded in Outworld now, since they don't have a way to open portals themselves.

Looking back, he notices Kung Lao and Kitana sitting beside Liu Kang, who seems to have fallen into Heroic BSOD mode after Raiden's rant against him. But before they can do anything about that, the doors to the dining room suddenly fling open. Out of the doors walk Li Han, Daquan, Goro, and a small squad of soldiers. While everyone, except Taven, is surprised to see Goro, only Liu Kang and Kung Lao have a reaction to the former two since they are the only ones who've met them. The heroes, minus Liu Kang, approach them. Kung Lao and Kitana question Goro as to why he's working for the bad guys again, after his previously mentioned lack of a desire to serve Shao Kahn and the fact he worked so hard to patch things up after _MK4_. Goro says that the Emperor saved his life, he owes him. Kung Lao can't believe that Li Han and Daquan are back, after what happened to them. Han laughs and says that Shinnok had need for his power, how does he think they got so many soldiers on their side? He was able to enhance his mind suggestion powers into mind control, which made Han swear loyalty him. Lao asks Daquan why is he working alongside Li Han again after what he did to him in _Shaolin Monks_. Daquan said as much as he hates Li Han, he hates Liu Kang and Kung Lao more. Plus, Shinnok let him get his own revenge on Li Han, which the latter visibly cringes at, so he's good for now. It turns out, the reason they are here was that their orders were to stand by and wait. Shinnok suspected the chance that things would go poorly and a fight would ensue. After the heroes had been drained from fighting his forces, they would be in a position to finish them off. Taven declares that they won't go down that easily and the two sides stare each other down.

All of a sudden, a portal opens up behind the heroes. Dumbfounded, both sides wonder who could have opened it. Of all people, Johnny Cage pokes his head out of the portal and says hello to everyone. When everyone remains silent, staring at him, Johnny yells to the heroes about why are they standing around and motions them to head through. The heroes quickly make their way through the portal, as Li Han orders his troops to stop them. They fail of course, as the portal closes before they can do anything.

The heroes emerge at the Special Forces HQ in the New York City. Johnny welcomes everyone, saying that he made it just in time. Taven introduces himself and ask how he knew to help. Johnny says that he just had a vision of the group in Outworld, then out of nowhere a portal appeared. Taking a chance, he peered through and saw them. Kung Lao and Kitana try to explain the whole deal with Shinnok, but Johnny says that he knows the fallen Elder God is up to no good again. In fact, he's gotten together some friends to help him stop Shinnok. Entering the room are Sonya, Jax, Kenshi, Fujin, Kai, Liu Chow, Bo' Rai Cho, Li Mei, Nightwolf, and Stryker. Johnny says that getting in contact was hard for some, but he hopes this will be sufficient. The heroes have a nice, little reunion with Johnny's group and intro Taven to them. We learn that Kenshi ran into Johnny while he was dropping off Takeda, which is how he's here now.

After informing Johnny's group about their side of the story, Taven wonders what they should do now. Johnny mentions he isn't sure, as he isn't getting anymore visions. Kung Lao wonders why he was getting these visions in the first place. Suddenly, a voice echoes throughout the room and says that the visions were of their design. There is a flash of pale green light and two figures appear.

The first figure is none other than Cetrion, the Goddess of Virtue. The second figure is a new character, one whose existence I've actually alluded to a few times. His name is Erasmus and I haven't quite figured out what exactly I want him to be the god of. The idea behind this character was that Raiden had a predecessor who was Earth's Protector God during the majority of the Saurian civilization, millions of years before the series. He was Raiden's mentor during his younger days. When Erasmus accepted ascension to Elder God status, he named Raiden his successor. Both him and Cetrion are introduced kinda late here, but they'll have a bigger role and be expanded more when I get to the Reboot Timeline, as well as something else I have planned.

Cetrion reveals that it was Erasmus who had given Johnny the visions that have been plaguing him recently. This was to help guide the Forces of Light to prepare for the Battle of Armageddon, which the Elder Gods know will be occurring soon, so that they would stand a chance against the Forces of Darkness that Shinnok has been amassing. Taven asks why the two weren't more upfront about this, Erasmus saying this was back when they were trying to be covert about their help. Kung Lao asks why they would need to do this in secret, Cetrion pointing out that it was because the other Elder Gods declared that they wouldn't get involved in anything regarding the Battle. Liu Kang is surprised to see them helping, considering his experience with the Elder Gods in _MK3_ and the fact they refused to resurrect him.

Erasmus and Cetrion show regret at their laziness and curse their former Elder God brethren for their disgusting inaction. After the events of _Deadly Alliance_, Cetrion began feeling a sense of unease and regret. This conflict had been in her for a long time, but she only started noticing it around the events of _MK3 _and _MK4_. Following Onaga's defeat, she talked with Erasmus, the Elder God she was the closest to. He initially dismissed her concerns, saying that Cetrion would get over it. After she had a nervous breakdown, Erasmus began taking her seriously and it motivated him to go on his own journey of self-reflection. He analyzed the last few million years and noticed just how much he lost himself. Back when he was a lesser god and Protector of Earthrealm he was compassionate, very active, and determined not to let evil win. After becoming an Elder God, he slowly lost all the things that he once took pride in. He soon realized just how lazy and ineffectual that the Elder Gods have been, noticing that their decisions have caused more harm than good in the long run. Erasmus also went and listened to Raiden and Liu Kang's speeches to the Elder Gods back in _MK3_. He was now disgusted at his lack of empathy and can't believe this is the God he became. Erasmus met up with Cetrion and the two discussed all this. He realizes not only has Cetrion felt similar, but even worse due to her nature. The growing conflict within her is because deep down, she knows that there is little to no virtue in what they've been doing.

The two began working in secret, manipulating things to ensure a good outcome for Armageddon. While they managed to keep things hidden from the other Elder Gods, the two's actions were eventually discovered. Cetrion and Erasmus were put on trial for violating the rules of the Elder Gods. The two decided enough was enough, they were rescinding their position. Not only that, but they were gonna fight alongside the Forces of Light in the Battle of Armageddon. No longer will they standby and watch the realms suffer. In order to do this, they were forced to become mortal and lose much of their powers, much like what Raiden did to join the heroes during Shao Kahn's invasion. They accepted this without a second thought and that's how they are here now. We learn Raiden will also have to do this if he plans on competing as well.

With that out of the way, Cetrion, Erasmus, Jax, Fujin, Kenshi, Kotal, Sub-Zero, and Taven gather around to discuss their next move. The other heroes just sit around and discuss things, catching up etc. Johnny and Sonya are discussing their kids, when Johnny notices Liu Kang sitting alone. The two approach and sit beside him to talk. Recall, that Liu Kang has been close friends with these two since _MK1_, longer then most of the cast. Cage asks if this has to do with what he said earlier about his encounter with Raiden, which Kang admits. He has started to wonder if Raiden was right, that him upholding his values and principles have caused nothing but problems. Sonya denies this, saying that it is absolutely absurd to claim that this is all Kang's fault, citing there are plenty of other factors that led them to this point. Kung Lao and Kitana join the three, pointing out for example that Liu Kang's actions had no impact on Onaga's resurrection. That would have happened with or without Kang. Johnny even jokes that it's on him and Raiden for never killing Reptile during their fights with him, since he was used as a vessel for the Dragon King. Kang brings up the fact that his death meant he wasn't there to aide against the Deadly Alliance and they all died against them. If he was there, maybe they wouldn't have ended up as Onaga's slaves like Raiden said. Chow joins in, saying that his brother can't say that for sure. You can't speculate on what could have happened, Liu Kang surviving would have changed how the whole thing played out. Liu Kang asks why they are so willing to comfort him over this. Johnny reminds Liu Kang how he defended him when he was criticized for sparring Reptile at the Mortal Kombat Tournament. He see his friend in the same position he was back then, so he can't help but comfort him. Kang immediately points out how he just said that earlier that sparring Reptile was a mistake in hindsight, but Johnny just retorts that hindsight doesn't matter. They didn't know this would all happen, so obsessing over past actions due to hindsight is pointless. Bo' Rai Cho interrupts to say Cage is right, all they can do is come to terms with the past and move on. He kneels before Kang and tells the undead monk to screw that whole nonsense of him causing all this. That was all in the past and they can do nothing about that. Even if he did cause problems, there is still plenty of time to fix them. He reminds Kang about a similar discussion him and Kung Jin had with Shujinko in _Deception_, about how they said the same regarding his mistakes. Liu Kang thinks about this and realizes that they are right, he can't let this bog him down. He stands up and thanks Cho for the words, but he warns Kang about the inevitable battle with Raiden at Armageddon. Kang nods, saying that he may have to kill Raiden to prevent him from winning. He became more conflicted when it was revealed that Raiden will actually die, rather then reform, if he kills him. Liu Kang decides that he will continue to follow his beliefs, but will make the rare exception if he feels it is best for the greater good.

Back with Taven, the group are discussing what to do next. Jax mentions there are still many allies they have left to recruit, but some will be harder to get then others. Their conversation eventually turns to Erasmus asking Taven about Daegon's status. As Taven talks about when his encounter with Daegon, he remembers the Temple of Blaze. Cetrion states that there were 3 gifts left for the brothers, that must be where the last one is. Taven asks where it is, as he didn't get the answer before they left the Red Dragon. Erasmus tells Taven that it is located in a remote, unknown jungle in Edenia. Cetrion and Erasmus use their combined power to open a portal there, saying this is the last stage of his journey until the Battle. Taven says that he already lost one gift to Daegon, he can't afford for him to take another. He calls out to the other heroes, asking who will accompany him. Liu Kang is the first to stand by Taven, soon joined by Kung Lao, Johnny Cage, Kitana, and Sub-Zero. Taven says that will be enough, the rest will stay and continue to plan things out. He also suggests that they try seeking out some more allies to join them. He promises that they will not be gone long and his group enters the portal, which closes shortly afterwards.

They arrive in an exotic, Edenian Jungle. Taven asks Kitana if she recognizes this place, which Kitana admits she does not. There are a bunch of flora and fauna that she's never seen before. Erasmus wasn't kidding when he said how unknown this place was. Johnny points to a structure in the distance, through the trees. The group carefully make their way through the growth and soon find themselves in a large clearing. They stand in awe, as they examine the Temple of Blaze. Taven locates the door, which has one of the monoliths beside it. He believes this may very well be the last monolith of his quest and places his hand on it.

Back in the training area, Taven is greeted by his father's apparition. By the way, if you are wondering why I haven't mentioned the monoliths again until now, I just didn't think it was necessary nor would it be interesting to mention everytime Taven finds one and does some sort of tutorial. I set up the monoliths, established Taven would find more, and I felt that was sufficient enough.

After one final lesson, possibly something that will prove vital for venturing in the temple, Argus decides he has one final thing to tell Taven. There is a reason why he is only an apparition. Taven admits that he's had an inkling as to why since the very first training session. He suspects that both him and his mother are dead. Argus silently nods and Taven asks who killed them. Argus tells Taven that it was his brother. Him and Delia were shocked when Daegon showed up, woken earlier than he was supposed to. Daegon ranted about what Shinnok told them and how they sealed him away without his permission, feeling disgusted and betrayed by his parents. They tried to explain the truth, but the whole mess destroyed Daegon's trust in them. Having enough, he killed them. To ensure that Taven would still have a teacher to guide him, Argus created the apparition. He did not want to tell Taven until he was ready to handle it, hoping that his son can forgive him for not revealing this sooner. Taven has had enough and calls out Argus, saying that this plan that him and mom came up with sucked. The only thing it has accomplished so far was change Daegon into a bitter, evil man and destroy their brotherly love. Argus admits that this plan was a terrible idea, but it is too late. The final battle will begin soon, he just wishes that he could have prepared Taven and Daegon better for all this. He is sorry for the pain he has caused his sons, but understands why they would never forgive him. Taven says that regardless of how he feels, he will finish this quest and tells his father to return him back to reality. Argus frowns, shakes his head, and Taven returns back to the monolith.

The door to Blaze's temple opens slowly. Kung Lao says that Daegon can't be in there if they just opened it, but Liu Kang says that's what they assumed about the Argus's temple. The six enter as we zoom out to see a Red Dragon goon monitoring the heroes. He radios to Daegon that Taven and friends have entered the temple. Daegon says that is good news, as soon he will have just what he needs to get what he needs to defeat his dear old brother.

The Temple of Blaze is the fourth and final major dungeon of the game. This will be the last puzzle section of the game, thus there will be pretty difficult here. Since the whole deal with Blaze is that he is a fire guy, we could have some fire-based puzzles here. There would be some group-based puzzles and maybe we could have some fire puzzles based around the fact Liu Kang can control fire. Some of the toughest enemies would be here as well. It would just be a final send-off to the dungeons that we've been seeing since _Deception_, at least in this timeline.

Eventually, Taven and pals arrive in a chamber much like the one at Sub-Zero's temple. At the north wall, is a pedestal with a strange red glass case. Inside, are two shields. Taven realizes that these are the gifts. He then notices some runes on the pedestal and reads them aloud. "A magical sword, armor, and shield. Victory against Blaze will be nigh impossible, unless one possesses these three sacred gifts from the Gods. These are the words of Argus and Delia." Taven and Daegon got their armor, but the latter took both swords. It looks like Daegon didn't find the chamber, so both gifts are actually here for once. Taven tries to smash the glass open, but his strikes just bounce off. No one else can break the glass, leaving them stumped on how to retrieve the gifts.

Suddenly, Daegon arrives with a large squad of Red Dragon goons, plus Mavado if he is still alive. He walks right up to the glass clase and breaks it instantly with one of the Drakeswords. Daegon thanks Taven for leading him right to the last gift, he knew him and his friends would clear the path right to it. He couldn't get through himself, nor with the help of his goons. Daegon proclaims that he will be invincible and grabs one of the shields before Taven can stop him. He knocks away Taven before he can grab the other, saying that there is no way that Taven can beat him now. He has the magic armor, magic shield, and both swords while Taven just has the armor. Daegon rushes Taven and the two fight, while the others are forced to fight against the Red Dragon goons.

It turns out that doing a fists vs. dual sword fight puts Taven at a massive disadvantage. He can barely defend himself from Daegon, who is utterly ruthless in his barrage of attacks. Daegon rants at Taven, claiming that their parents always liked Taven better. Taven says that Shinnok twisted Daegon with lies and deception, which led to the death of their parents. Daegon says he killed them once and he'd do it again, those two never cared about them. They were just pawns for their "grand plan" to save reality. Taven disagrees, telling Daegon that their parents did care about them. He tells Daegon what Argus told him, but Daegon says he cares not for his father's apologies. Daegon knicks Taven's cheek with a sword slash, giving him a scar. He tells Taven to stop with the speech, nothing he can say will change anything.

While fighting the goons, Liu Kang looks over and sees that Taven is quickly losing his edge against Daegon. He goes over to Kung Lao and the two talk, while casually knocking away some goons. Kang says that Daegon is so obsessed with killing Taven, and the goons are too busy fighting them, that they barely have anyone protecting the remaining shield. Lao points out that's good, but Taven still won't have much chance unless he gets one of the Drakeswords. Kang pauses and thinks for a moment, before telling Lao to retrieve the shield then wait for his signal.

Taven is grabbed by Daegon and thrown onto his stomach. Daegon stomps on Taven's back and pins him.. He declares that finally, he has defeated his brother. Daegon says that Taven journeyed long and hard, but he will not be the son that wins Armageddon. He will finish him, right here and now. Daegon yells as he raises his sword to decapitate Taven. It seems like the end for him, but you don't buy it for a second, do you?

Before Daegon can swing his sword down, he is blasted back by Liu Kang's Dragon Fire. This surprise attack causes him to drop the sword besides Taven, who quickly grabs it and gets on his feet. Johnny quips that Daegon just made a classic villain mistake, you don't gloat about victory unless you've already won. Kang gives Lao the signal, who shouts "Taven, catch!" as he throws the mighty shield. Taven expertly catches it and he stands up straight now, as we get a nice shot of him with all three gifts equipped. Daegon gets back up and stomps the ground, angrily that he just had Taven where he wanted him and blew it. Taven thanks the guys, telling them he can handle it now. Liu Kang and Kung Lao give him a thumbs up as they go back to fighting the goons.

Daegon draws the other Drakesword and declares that it doesn't matter, he can still defeat Taven even with his added equipment. The two engage in a proper sword fight and the two are more evenly matched now. In fact, they are so evenly matched in their swordplay, that they are still fighting after the others have finished defeating all the goons. They just watch the back and forth, as Taven tells them not to interfere. We could have an amusing bit where Johnny talks over the sword fight like a sports commentator.

This goes on for a long while, Taven and Daegon are almost drained of stamina. Lao notes that it seems like this battle is going to end in a draw or double knockout. Liu Kang feels that it's time they got involved. Johnny tries to say something, but is interrupted by everyone else's discussion. Eventually, he gets a word in and points to the ceiling. Looking up, the others see a large orange diamond embedded in the ceiling and it is now radiating an orange light. A beam shoots out of diamond, right between the Taven and Daegon, blinding everyone with orange light when it hits the ground.

Regaining their senses, everyone is shocked to see a man on fire standing before them. Daegon shouts that it must be Blaze and he immediately goes in for a swing, but the sword just phases through him. The man says he is Blaze's projection, he isn't really here. He is happy to see the two brothers, looks like their dragons got his signal after all. Stammering, Taven asks why he's appeared now. Blaze says that is because of his duty, he was to appear before both brothers after they recovered all three gifts. He tells them that is time for the final stage of their quest. "One month after the brothers recover the three gifts, the Battle of Armageddon is fated to occur. The two will join the Forces of Light and Darkness in this fateful encounter and make their way to the top of the Pyramid of Argus. The final battle between the two brothers will occur, the victor of which will face Blaze to determine the fate of the realms. These are the wise words of Argus and Delia." Now that they have them, the race towards Armageddon has begun. He says they must head to Finare Crater in the Southlands of Edenia when the time comes. Once Taven, Daegon, and both forces have arrived, then the Pyramid of Argus will rise from the ground and the battle will begin.

Suddenly, a torrent of fire appears around Blaze. It dissipates, revealing his true monstrous form. He tells Taven and Daegon that he will be waiting for the two at the top of Pyramid. Blaze warns them not to let anyone else get there first, for he is required to fight anyone who reaches the top and challenges him. Remember, they have exactly one month to prepare. He cannot wait to finally fulfill his purpose and says goodbye, as the projection is absorbed back into the diamond.

There is a long period of awkward silence afterwards. Taven finally speaks up, pointing his sword at Daegon and telling him that they will end this at the Pyramid. Daegon chuckles, noting that one of them will not survive that fight. He gathers his goons and quietly leaves.

The others run up to Taven, most of them can't believe that Daegon just let them go. Taven tells them that he will defeat Daegon at the Pyramid, for good. They can guarantee it, this battle was going nowhere anyway. Liu Kang notes that one month isn't much time to gather allies, but they'll have to make do. Kung Lao says that there are still many friends that can help them, they just need to make sure that the Forces of Darkness don't outnumber them too much. Johnny proclaims that they can win this, and they must or everything they ever fought for will have been for nothing. The group cheer that the Forces of Light will not be defeated! Not long after, a portal opens up. Johnny notices that it is one of Cetrion and Erasmus's portals, they must have known that they were finished here. The group head through, the portal closing quickly afterwards.

**TO BE CONTINUED IN PART IV**


	20. Wasted Plotential: Armageddon (Part 4)

In one month, the Battle of Armageddon will commence. The Forces of Light and Darkness must gather their forces to prepare for the ultimate fight. Shinnok, Onaga, Daegon, and Shao Kahn have been traveling to gather anyone who will fight alongside them against the heroes. We get a montage of them visiting various evil characters and recruiting them, usually they are willing or have to be enticed with some sort of deal.

Taven and the others have returned back from the Temple of Blaze, informing everyone about what happened there. Erasmus says they must get started on gathering allies right away, one month isn't much time. The heroes begin naming off various characters that they can recruit, making plans to split into groups and go to these individuals.

Like with the Forces of Darkness, there would be a montage for most of the recruitment process. Keyword is "most", as there are 4 instances that the player will take part of.

Kung Lao asks Cetrion and Erasmus if they can pinpoint where Jin is, he needs to try at least one last time to make amends with Jin before the final battle. Erasmus uses his power to locate Jin, revealing that he actually is still in Hong Kong. Lao is glad, calling over to Liu Kang that they need to head out right away. Their attention is diverted when they hear a loud gasp from Erasmus, quickly running over to him. Erasmus is shocked to see Kung Jin traveling alongside the Black Dragon, seeing both Kabal and Havik alongside him. Liu Kang says they need to go right now or Havik may corrupt Jin like he did with Kabal. The two former Elder Gods open up a portal to Hong Kong and the two monks prepare to enter, when they are stopped by Fujin. He believes they can restore Kabal to his heroic self, something he has been wanting to do since his encounter with him in _Deception_. Kung Lao asks if he is sure they can do this, Fujin promising that they will not fail. The three then enter the portal together.

Arriving in Hong Kong, the three warriors begin asking around for information on the Black Dragon. Most of the people they interrogate either can't give them anything or run away from them, mainly because of Zombie Kang. They wander all across the place, eventually ending up in the Kwun Tong district as the sun is setting. Although Lao doesn't wish to give up, he feels they might have to stop for the day. Suddenly, Fujin notices something across the street and dashes off without a word. Liu Kang looks over and sees Fujin is running after a balding man, in a Black Dragon gi. The man sees Fujin running towards him and tries to run away, only for Fujin to use his wind powers to prevent his escape.

Fujin grabs the man, as Liu Kang and Kung Lao catch up. He asks where the Black Dragon are hiding, but the dude denies having anything to do with the gang. Liu Kang steps up to the man, threatening to bite him and turn the thug into a zombie. The man believes Kang is bluffing, until Kang traps him in his chains and whips the man towards him. Kang makes a motion that looks like he is going to bite the guy, which finally gets him to talk.

We cut to later that night, in the Sham Shui Po district. The three heroes have arrived at an abandoned warehouse, the one the man claims is the Black Dragon's hideout. Fujin uses his wind powers to lift themselves up to the roof. They head down the stairs and arrive in the center of the warehouse, where the Black Dragon are gathered. Lao sees Kung Jin at the front of the crowd and almosts gets the three noticed. Liu Kang pulls Lao down and the two take cover behind some crates.

Kung Jin is noticeably beaten, with a black eye and many bandages. Kabal congratulates Jin on his fortitude, not many survive the Black Dragon initiation process. We then learn how Jin ended up here, after Jin's robbery of the Great Kung Lao statute, he was almost caught by the police. Jin was cornered in an alley, when Kabal suddenly appeared and slaughtered the police officers that were chasing him. He then took Jin back to their hideout, so he could lie low for a bit. Kabal and the Black Dragon retreated back to their Hong Kong hideout after their encounter with Taven and Liu Kang, explaining why they are here. Kabal had heard rumors about Jin, about both his exceptional archery skills and the thefts he's committed across the land. Jin hung out with Kabal for a while, eventually deciding he wanted to join the Black Dragon as thanks for helping him escape the police. After passing the initial tests, Jin went through the final initiation to "beat the weakness out of him."

Havik wanders in and Fujin gasps, as he is holding a Chaos Pendant. Kabal says that recruits like Jin must put this on before they can officially join the gang. Jin stares at the pendant, saying that he has a feeling of unease regarding the object. Havik assures him that it is perfectly fine, it's a sign of "liberation" from where he's from. Havik hands the pendant to Kabal, who walks over to place it over Jin's head.

Kung Lao rushes forward, it's time for action. Fujin and Liu Kang join in, quickly engaging the goons as Lao makes his way towards Kung Jin. Kabal is just about to put the pendant on Jin, when Lao yells out Jin's name. This catches Havik, Kabal, and Jin's attention as Lao decks Havik across the face. Kabal quickly jumps to help Havik and the two fight Kung Lao, while Jin just stares on. He's a bit dazed and confused, from both his earlier beating and at the arrival of the heroes.

Liu Kang runs over to join Kung Lao against Havik and Kabal, while Fujin holds his own against the army of goons. Kabal asks what they are doing here, with Lao responding that they have arrived to save him and Jin. Havik scoffs and says that there is nothing happening that these two need saving from. Lao points out that Havik corrupted Kabal with his chaos, he won't let him do the same to his cousin. Havik replies that Lao has no say in Jin's destiny, that this is what Jin wants. Liu Kang is incredulous, saying that he doubts that Jin would agree with having his mind stripped and replaced with his chaotic beliefs. Jin, who is slightly regaining his senses, wonders if this is true. Havik denies it and challenges the two monks to kombat, which they accept.

If the player wins the fight, Liu Kang will grab Kabal while Lao goes over to help up Kung Jin. He extends his hand to Jin, who at first knocks it away. Jin then stands up and tries walking away, but Lao runs up and grabs him. He tells Jin that he wants to talk, but Jin just pushes him and tells Lao that he doesn't want anything to do with him. Jin challenges Lao to kombat, but Lao doesn't want to fight his cousin, especially considering how badly injured Jin is right now. When Jin won't back down, Lao is forced to fight. He defeats Jin, who falls to the ground unconscious. Lao picks up Jin and calls to Fujin, saying that they are ready to go. Fujin uses a tornado to finish off the goons and walks up to Lao, asking if Jin is okay. He tells Fujin that he is critically injured, they need to get him some medical attention as soon as possible. Kobra and Kira wander in with another squad of Black Dragon, also helping up Havik. Just as they are about to be surrounded, a portal opens up which the the heroes escape into.

If the player lost the fight against Havik and Kabal, the two will boast about their triumph over some of Earth's greatest warriors. Kabal suggests giving the two Chaos Pendants as well, when they notice Jin standing up behind him. He's weakily aiming his bow at them, while also having difficulty holding his bow straight. Havik is curious as to why Jin would protect these two, after all he's spoke about how much he hates them. Jin chuckles, saying that he thought he did. However, seeing his two cousins on the floor, beaten after trying to "save him", just made him feel something that he can't quite explain. Maybe it's instinct, but he can't let his family come to harm anymore. Jin tries shooting an arrow at Kabal, but it comes up short. Kabal tells Havik to grab Jin, he's going to put the Chaos Pendant on now. Unable to react in time, Jin is put in a hold by Havik. Noticing this, Fujin blows away the goons and Kabal, before grabbing Havik and throwing him through a wall. Fujin stares down at Jin, who finally passes out from him injuries. He goes over to grab Jin, when he is suddenly stabbed through the shoulder by Kabal's hook swords. Kabal had recovered and starts fighting Fujin.

If Fujin defeats Kabal, he will grab both him and Jin. The two monks have regained their senses and quickly run over to Fujin, glad that he was able to stop them. Kobra and Kira wander in with another squad of Black Dragon, also helping up Havik. Just as they are about to be surrounded, a portal opens up which the heroes escape into.

If Fujin loses to Kabal, he gets knocked out by him. Kabal goes over to Jin and places the Chaos Pendant on Jin, revealing the truth of chaos to the poor monk. Jin is now officially turned to the Black Dragon's side. Fujin eventually regains consciousness, only to see that the Black Dragon have escaped and that they failed in their mission. Helping up Lao and Kang, he deeply apologizes for his failure in saving Jin and Kabal. Lao tears up, afraid that he has now lost his dear cousin forever. Kang assures the two that they haven't failed yet, that they will meet Jin and Kabal again at the Battle of Armageddon. Fujin points out that is correct, only they will likely be fighting on the Forces of Darkness. The portal opens up behind them and the three head in.

If the player was successful in bringing back the two, an additional cutscene will play upon their return. Jin awakens, fully healed, to see Kung Lao watching over him. He hugs Jin tightly, who just stares around and asks where he is. Lao tells him he's at the Special Forces HQ and that all his injuries have been healed, thanks to Cetrion. Kung Jin has no idea who he is talking about, as his eyes fall over on Kabal. He is lying on the medical table, where Cetrion, Fujin, and Erasmus seem to be using some sort of magic on him. Liu Kang wanders over and informs Jin that they are working to undo Kabal's corruption. They reveal that they were telling the truth, that the Chao Pendant would have turned him into the same vile criminal that Kabal was like. Havik had done this to him about a year and a half ago. Kung Jin can't believe that he was stupid enough to trust the Black Dragon of all people.

Cetrion calls the three over as they have just finished their magic on Kabal. He sits up and angrily asks where Havik is, he wants to tear the cretin apart. We learn that Kabal we had known from _MK3_ was still within him, but could do nothing as the chaos overtook his mind. He's been aware of everything he has done while under Havik's influence and Kabal is pissed. Fujin calms him down, that the time will come for that. The heroes explain the whole deal with Armageddon to Kung Jin and Kabal. The latter immediately jumps on joining them in the battle, to deal with the Black Dragon he helped bring back and to atone for all the crimes he committed while under chaos. Kung Jin also says that he's in, but doesn't say anything further then that, he then wanders outside. Lao wonders what's up and decides that it's time they finally had a proper talk.

Walking outside the Special Forces HQ, Kung Lao finds Jin sitting on a hill and staring at the full moon. He quietly walks up to Jin and sits beside him, the two just staring off into the sky for a while. Lao is about to say something, when Jin interrupts to say that he is sorry. He's sorry about how unfairly he treated Lao and Kang. Lao tells Jin that the way he reacted was normal given what happened, but Jin shouts that it wasn't. He felt an irrational hatred towards everyone involved with the monks after the incident with the White Lotus Society, even against people that had no say in the matter. Lao did his best to contest with the elders and comfort him after the rejections, but all he did was spit Lao in the face. They sought after him, recalling his encounter with Kang earlier. Kang tried to get through to him, but he just refused to entertain any of his words. Then he let himself get suckered into the Black Dragon, almost getting corrupted like Kabal was. He reiterates that he is sorry, before trailing off into silence. Lao tells Jin that he is the one that should be apologizing. He failed Jin, he should have stood up for him more and whipped the monks into shape after they refused to acknowledge him and his provocaties. Lao was their Master and could have done something about it, but he didn't. Jin interrupts to say that, basically, they both screwed up. Lao seems like he is about to say something, but stumbles over his words before saying that yeah, they screwed up with one another. The two laugh and Jin says that he will make up for it, saying that they will win this battle. They stand and bow to each other, before heading inside to join back with the others.

When discussing who to recruit and where to find them, Sub-Zero eventually brings up Scorpion. Cyrax asks if he's sure about him, but Sub-Zero says that the two have been on good terms for years, besides that time Quan Chi manipulated him. The tricky part is getting in touch with Scorpion, since he hasn't heard from him since they defeated Onaga. Liu Kang suggests that they try sending Taven to the Netherrealm, since that is basically Scorpion's home. He's one of the few people among them that can be in the realm, as people without sufficient darkness cannot survive there for long. Taven asks Cetrion who among them can travel there, as she should be able to tell due to her whole virtue thing. She says the only ones among them who can currently travel there are without any issue are Taven, Kano, Kenshi, and Kabal (only says the latter if the player completed their quest). Sub-Zero, Kotal, Cyrax, Jin (same deal with Kabal), and Kitana have enough darkness to go and survive for a limited amount of time. Taven says they probably don't need a big team, so he decides that Kenshi and Sub-Zero will go with him. Kenshi is a good warrior and Sub-Zero is probably the closest to Scorpion among everyone here. Sub-Zero says it is risky for him to go, but he'll do anything it takes to ensure Scorpion joins their side. Cetrion and Erasmus open a portal to the Netherrealm, the latter telling them to be cautious. Taven says no need to worry, they've managed several times already. The three strut into the portal and soon find themselves in the Netherrealm.

The three find themselves in the usual Netherrealm city we've seen in the past. As the group are discussing how to find Scorpion, they are suddenly surrounded by some Netherrealm inhabitants. They all seem to be cheering and applauding Taven, much to his confusion. The crowd clears a path, from which the Mayor of the City emerges. Taven asks what is going on, the Mayor revealing that Taven is a legend here in the Netherrealm now. He stood up to the cruel Shinnok, and won! They haven't seen the fallen Elder God since then, believing that Taven has driven him out of the realm for good. As such, he has become a hero throughout the place. The mayor offers anything to the group for accomplishing this feat, so Sub-Zero asks if he knows where they can find Scorpion. The crowd grows silent and look uncomfortable, quickly dispersing as only the mayor is left with the heroes. He explains that Scorpion has caused them many problems recently with his undead army. Sub-Zero is taken aback by this, especially since he never knew that Scorpion had one. The mayor tells them that they can find Scorpion's Lair through a cave, some miles to the southeast. If they need to see the spectre then he won't stop them, but he warns the heroes to be careful. The mayor leaves and the heroes are left all alone. Sub-Zero wonders what has happened since Scorpion helped them defeat Onaga, worried that he has fallen to evil again. Taven says they must find him fast, as he begins leading the group southeast.

As they venture across the realm, they are suddenly assaulted by undead Shirai Ryu warriors. They seem especially interested in Taven, as most of their attacks focus on him. Sub-Zero is shocked to see more Shirai Ryu ninjas, since they were all wiped out by Quan Chi years ago. He recalls that the "powers of the dark realm" were responsible for giving Scorpion his spectre form, wondering if said powers have brought back his Shirai Ryu brethren as well. The heroes are able to repel the warriors, but get exhausted from the countless attacks. They soon come across the cave that the mayor had mentioned.

After a long descent, the heroes arrive in the Hell stage from _UMK3/MK9_. The group are awestruck by the horrific, lava filled landscape before them. The sounds of wails from souls, trapped in stone pillars, run shivers down their spines. Sub-Zero calls out Scorpion, they demand an audience with the spectre.

Shortly after, Scorpion and a group of his undead followers appear in a burst of flames. Before the heroes can do anything, the undead ninjas attack them. Sub-Zero starts feeling intense pain, as a result of being in the Netherrealm too long. He gets away from the undead and confronts Scorpion. Sub-Zero wants to know where he got these zombie warriors, but Scorpion ignores him and walks up to Taven. He decks Taven across the face and declares that he will die. Sub-Zero runs up and asks what Scorpion is doing, the spectre saying that he cannot let Taven win Armageddon.

We learn that the Elder Gods made a promise to Scorpion, when they made him their Champion back in _Deception_. If he stopped Onaga, they would bring back the Shirai Ryu. Even though he wasn't the one who did the deed, they still decided to fulfill their end of the bargain. Scorpion was glad at first, until he actually saw his revived brethren. Instead of bringing them back as mortals, the Elder Gods brought them back as zombies like Liu Kang. Scorpion became so enraged that he swore revenge against the Elder Gods. The spectre had learned about Armageddon from them and he will prevent Taven from defeating Blaze. He will beat Blaze himself, then use his power to destroy the Elder Gods and restore his clan.

Scorpion says that if he needs to kill Taven to fulfill his plan, then he'll gladly do it. Sub-Zero stands between the two, telling Scorpion to not let revenge consume him again. He says that he'll fight Scorpion, but the spectre refuses. Scorpion does not wish to fight Sub-Zero, still wishing to honor his role as Sub-Zero's protector and to atone for their scuffle in _MK4_. He tries pushing Sub-Zero aside to fight Taven, but Sub-Zero counters this and fights the spectre anyway. Sub-Zero manages to defeat Scorpion in the battle, which gets the undead ninjas to stand down. Taven walks over to Scorpion, who believes that Taven is going to try and kill him. Instead, Taven offers his hand to Scorpion. He helps up the spectre and Sub-Zero asks if Scorpion will hear what they have to say. Since he was defeated in kombat, Scorpion says that Sub-Zero has earned his attention. But before Liang can tell him anything, he collapses. Kenshi runs over and examines him, telling the others that he is dying. Taven realizes they've pushed their luck with having Sub-Zero here and they need to leave right now. Thinking quickly, Scorpion asks where they were before they entered the Netherrealm. After Taven tells them they were in the Special Forces HQ, Scorpion huddles them together and they disappear in a burst of flames.

They appear back at the Special Forces HQ, startling everyone with their sudden return. Sub-Zero starts returning to normal, with Cetrion saying that it looks they barely got him back in time. Scorpion pauses at the sight of Cetrion and Erasmus, recognizing them as Elders Gods. He is briefly consumed by rage, but Liu Kang, Taven, and Kenshi manage to hold him back. Sub-Zero tells Scorpion to calm down, these two are helping them. The heroes explain everything to Scorpion, who seems somewhat satisfied with their tale. Sub-Zero asks if Scorpion will fight with the Forces of Light, even enticing him by telling Scorpion that Quan Chi will be there on the Forces of Darkness. The spectre decides that he will help them, on the condition that his clan is restored, properly, after the battle is over. Erasmus agrees to the terms and personally apologizes to Scorpion about what they did, but the spectre just brushes him off. Sub-Zero puts his hand on Scorpion's shoulder, saying that's it good to have him on their side again. Scorpion awkwardly tries to apologize for their scuffle earlier, but Sub-Zero says that it's all good. The spectre swears that he will protect Sub-Zero at the battle with his life, Sub-Zero saying he will do the same and the two bow to one another.

Kitana decides to go roundup Sindel, Jade, and Ermac. She also needs to let them know what's happened, since they last saw her walk through a portal with Shang Tsung, disguised as Liu Kang. Kenshi is surprised to hear Ermac's name, so Kitana explains. Sometime ago, Ermac came to the Edenian Royal Castle and bowed before Queen Sindel. He wanted to help further atone for his crimes in years past, asking if he can serve her anyway she can. Ermac became an advisor for Sindel and Kitana notes the two have gotten very close. Sindel even says that something about Ermac reminds her of Jerrod, but she can't explain why she feels like that. Kang says this is good, they could definitely use Ermac's soul power on their side. A portal is opened to Edenia's capital city and Kitana heads through with Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Taven.

Arriving in the capital, Taven looks around in wonder. He can't believe that he is finally back in Edenia, after several millennia of being trapped in that monolith. Looking around, he notices how much has changed since then. He turns to Kitana and excitedly asks how Edenia has been doing since his absence. Kitana tells him about Shao Kahn's conquer and merging of Edenia, as well as their restoration following _MK3_. They've been working hard to restore the realm to its glory days. Taven turns and examines the Royal Castle in the distance, saying that once this is all over and he becomes the Protector God of Edenia, he's going to help restore it and ensure that no one like Shao Kahn will ever threaten the realm's existence ever again.

As the group walk towards the castle, they notice that there seems to be an abnormally large amount of guards and soldiers patrolling the city. Cage also points out how some buildings seem to be going under repairs. A group of guards run up and kneel before Kitana, telling her that there has been a terrible crisis. Kitana asks what's going on, but the guards say that they need to take her directly to Queen Sindel, it's their orders.

The group soon arrive in the throne room of the Royal Castle, where Sindel and Ermac are waiting for them. Sindel is pleased to see her daughter, but is puzzled at seeing Kang a zombie again. Kitana tells her that the Kang they saw was actually Shang Tsung and she was used as bait for the heroes. Sindel is horrified and declares that Tsung will pay for his crimes someday. She turns her attention to Taven and gets a good look at him. Taven, uncomfortable with the strange gaze, asks Sindel what's up. Sindel says that he is Taven, the son of Argus. The tales of Edenia's Protector God and his mighty sons are quite the legend here in Edenia, but only the Royal Family know the truth behind the tales. She knows that if Taven is here now, then the end times are approaching. Taven walks towards Sindel and kneels, telling the Queen that she is right. He tells her all about his quest, the Battle, and of Blaze. Taven asks if she'll join their forces and prevent the end of all reality. Sindel says that she will, but only if they accomplish a task for her.

Sindel points out that Jade isn't here. She tells them that the stuff they saw in town was because of a recent attack. Shinnok assaulted the city with a large army, in an attempt to storm the castle. They suffered heavy damage and casualties, but managed to force him to retreat. Unfortunately, Jade was captured by Tanya and taken back to their camp in the mountains to the east. If they rescue Jade, Sindel and Ermac will join them in the Battle of Armageddon. Taven swears that they will not fail, with Kitana promising her mother that they will bring back Jade safely. As her lifetime friend, she will see to it. Sindel nods and orders some soldiers to accompany them to the mountains. Before the heroes leave, Ermac approaches and tries to say something to Kitana. After stumbling over his words, he just says "Good luck!" to Kitana, who responds with a nod. He then goes back over to Sindel, who asks Ermac what's wrong. He just says that he was trying to find a way to voice his concerns. Sindel chuckles and tells him that she'll be fine, they'll pull through.

We cut over to the villains's camp, in the dead of night. Tanya enters an ornate tent, where Li Han and Daquan are torturing Jade. Daquan asks how long they are going to keep this up, as they were supposed to kill Jade. Tanya interrupts and tells Daquan that she's in charge while the others are gone and she wants Jade to suffer. After the events of _Deception_, Tanya was brought back to Edenia and thrown into solitary confinement. She would eventually escape thanks to Li Han and Daquan, soon finding herself recruited into the Forces of Darkness. She believes that with their help, they'll finally get someone to rule Edenia who actually deserves it. Jade calls Tanya deluded, that any promise they make about that is hollow. Tanya ignores her and asks Li Han about his mind control powers as we cut away.

The heroes arrive at the clearing in the mountains, where the camp is. Them and the soldiers sneak into the camp, silently taking care of any guards on watch. They eventually locate an ornate tent, which they believe is either the leader's tent or where Jade is being held. The soldiers stay outside as lookouts, while the heroes enter the tent. Kitana and Taven examine a large desk, finding documents that indicate more attacks on the capital will take place in the future. It seems that Shinnok views the Edenian army as a potential threat, since the Battle will be taking on their home turf. He wants to annihilate the forces and is apparently planning something with the Red Dragon, but they can't find anything document saying what that is. All of a sudden, they hear the soldiers get killed. In the tent walks Tanya, Li Han, and Daquan. Kitana yells at Tanya, questioning what they have done with Jade. Tanya says that she is probably due to meet her again, calling Jade to enter the tent. She wanders in and Liu Kang immediately knows something is up when he notices Jade's soulless eyes. He turns to Li Han and says that the sorcerer has taken control of her, which he doesn't deny. Kitana quickly tackles Tanya out of the tent and land right in front of a group of Outworld soldiers. Liu Kang, Taven, and Johnny run out to fight the soldiers, who are backed by Li Han, Daquan, and Jade.

Kitana defeats Tanya, but not before Tanya breaks her right arm. Jade rushes Kitana upon seeing this and seems ready to fight. Kitana tries to get through to Jade, a mirror of when Sindel and Jade attempted the same to her in _Deception._ She fails and the two fight, which Jade wins. Jade is about to do her Head Kabob fatality on Kitana, only to get Bicycle Kicked by Liu Kang. Taven meanwhile runs over and drags Kitana to the side, then goes back to helping Johnny. Liu Kang's spirit leaves his zombie body and uses his spiritual powers to undo Li Han's mind control. After returning to his body, he helps up Jade. She is completely horrified by what she has done to Kitana and quickly runs over to her. Jade apologizes to Kitana, who just says she is glad to see that she's safe. Liu Kang joins the two and they have some banter together. Suddenly, Johnny and Taven comically run past them and yell "RETREAT!" The other three turn to see more Outworld soldiers, alongside a large group of Shokan and Centaurs. Since they are just five of them, fighting an entire army like this would be a death wish. Grabbing Kitana, Jade and Liu Kang quickly run away. They are chased by the some of the army for a bit, until Tanya recovers and orders them to fall back. Li Han confronts her and questions that order, only for Tanya to say that they will be taken care of soon enough. Daegon has ensured this, but she doesn't elaborate.

Returning to the castle, Kitana is healed up and they meet back up with Sindel. Ermac congratulates the heroes on their success, while Sindel informs Jade about Taven and their quest. Sindel declares to the heroes that they will join them in the Battle of Armageddon, also suggesting that she bring along the Edenian army. Taven says that is a great idea, but brings up what they discovered in the tent about future attack. Ermac, Kitana, Jade, Sindel, and Taven discuss this for some time, while we have some levity courtesy of Kang and Johnny. Suddenly, Johnny asks if they hear a strange sound. A guard appears and hurriedly directs everyone to the balcony. Upon arriving, Johnny points to a bomber plane flying above the city. Taven shouts when he notices that the Red Dragon mark on the plane. The hull of the plane opens, dropping a NUKE towards the city. Sindel is horrified and wants to do something about it, but Johnny says trying to stop a nuke without advanced weaponary is a suicide mission. Liu Kang yells for Cetrion and Erasmus, after which a portal quickly appears. Taven and the other Edenians do not want to abandon their capital, but Johnny slaps them and yells that they can't do anything, that nuke is gonna hit the city in minutes. Reluctantly, they join Kang and Johnny in going through the portal, which closes just as the nuke obliterates the city and the Royal Castle.

Returning to Special Forces HQ, Taven is pissed and punches a hole in the wall. Sindel, Kitana, and Jade are crying over the destruction, while Ermac seems lost in thought. Jax checks the government database, where he learns that nuke was stolen from an overseas military base a couple days ago. Sonya suggests this is where the Red Dragon got the nuke and they decided to use it to end the Edenian threat once and for all. Kenshi can't believe that they survived Caro destroying their base, wondering if the Red Dragon will ever be truly destroyed. Sindel stands up, alongside Taven, Kitana, Jade, and Ermac. She says the five of them will finish the Red Dragon off for good, those monsters will not survive the Battle of Armageddon.

Sub-Zero approaches Nightwolf and asks how his "research" has gone. Nightwolf says he discovered something, but it could backfire both ways. He says that he is willing to risk it, but asks if Sub-Zero is. He looked down in concern, before looking back at Nightwolf and quietly nods.

They approach Cetrion and Erasmus, telling them that they know another two warriors they can recruit. Smoke and Noob Saibot, his brother. We learn what Nightwolf's "research" was.

After witnessing Nightwolf bond Liu Kang and his zombie body, his strong spiritual powers, and his Sin Eater technique, Sub-Zero saw some potential in Nightwolf. Following Onaga's defeat, he approached Nightwolf and asks if he could find someway to restore Noob Saibot back to Bi-Han. He wasn't quite confident about it, having never had to work on a wraith before. Nightwolf told Sub-Zero that he would look into it, but he can't make any promises. For the last 6 months, Nightwolf has seeked other spiritually-inclined individuals and the spirits of his ancestors for a way to help Sub-Zero. He eventually discovered a way to combine his Sin Eater power with an ancient spell, that has the potential to save Bi-Han. The only problem is that it is extremely dangerous and an unstable technique, which could permanently cost both Nightwolf and Bi-Han's souls if it goes wrong. Erasmus points out that is a very risky plan they have, but Nightwolf and Sub-Zero say they are willing to take the risk.

Cyrax says that Smoke was re-connected to the Lin Kuei database after he was brought back by Noob, so he should be able to check and see where he's hiding. He soon finds that Noob Saibot is at...the Lin Kuei Temple. Sub-Zero flips out at this, cursing himself for abandoning his temple. Cetrion and Erasmus quickly open a portal to Arctika, which he runs through alongside Cyrax, Nightwolf, and Scorpion. We hear Scorpion's thoughts, he thinks back to the guilt he felt in _MK2_, after learning that he took Kuai Liang's brother away from him. Ever since he got his memories back, and after he was tricked by Quan Chi in _MK4_, he has felt even worse. Feeling responsible for the pain of Sub-Zero's current situation, Scorpion runs through the portal to help Sub-Zero and finally atone for his past actions.

The heroes arrive at the Lin Kuei Temple courtyard, only to find a dozen dead Lin Kuei ninjas. Consumed by anger, Sub-Zero yells out for his brother to show himself. From a black mist, emerges Noob Saibot and Smoke. The former calls out Sub-Zero for foolishly abandoning his pupils, saying they were easy pickings. The dead ninjas rise again as Shadow Warriors, who attack the heroes.

Scorpion and Sub-Zero make their way through the Shadow Warriors in order to reach Noob, only to be stopped by Smoke. Scorpion tells Sub-Zero to go on ahead, while he fights Smoke. The cyber decries Scorpion for betraying his Netherrealm brethren, but Scorpion says that Smoke is not Netherrealm and that neither of them should be on Noob's side. The two fight and this is another fight that influences the story, depending on the outcome, though I will get more into this in a bit.

During this battle, Sub-Zero approaches Noob. The latter sighes and asks if Kuai Liang is gonna do more of that "I Know You're in There Somewhere" shtick, he's getting tired of that. Sub-Zero says all he needs to do is defeat Noob, then Nightwolf can save him. Noob scoffs at this, saying that he doesn't need saving and is perfectly fine the way he is. He summons his sickle and rushes Sub-Zero, who easily counters and throws Noob. The two enter a proper fight.

If Noob defeats Sub-Zero, the player will get another chance if Scorpion defeated Smoke. The spectre will run up and tackle Noob, preventing him from landing a final blow on Sub-Zero. Scorpion says that it's been a long time since they fought each other. Noob asks Scorpion if he believes that Bi-Han is still within him like Liang, with Scorpion simply replying that Hanzo is still within himself. Noob just sneers at this, saying the Hanzo side of Scorpion hold him back from his true, unholy power. The spectre angrily declares that his humanity is what gives him strength and motivation. Noob is just driven by the powers of evil, while Scorpion is driven by more than just the evil within. The two fight, Noob declaring that their rivalry will finally end here.

If Scorpion loses to Noob or if he had lost to Smoke before the player lost to Noob, then he will mock the failure of the two ninjas. He seems ready to finish both Scorpion and Sub-Zero, when Cyrax and Nightwolf run over to protect them. Suddenly, Noob is contacted by an unknown force. He recalls his shadow warriors and they disappear in the black mist. The two help up Scorpion and Sub-Zero, with Nightwolf apologizing for their failure. It looks like Noob will be fighting alongside the Forces of Darkness. Sub-Zero says it's alright, they'll just have to see if they can save him at the Battle, but Nightwolf doubts they'll get the chance then.

If the Scorpion or Sub-Zero defeated Noob, then the other will come up to the victorious one alongside Nightwolf. He tells Nightwolf to work his magic and they begin the process of cleansing Noob Saibot. Nightwolf shoots a strange mix of purple and green energy, while uttering something in a different language. Everything seems to be going well, until Noob Saibot suddenly starts violently resisting. A dark energy mixes in with Nightwolf's, Sub-Zero fears that Noob is trying to turn the tables and corrupt Nightwolf. He wants to go help, but Nightwolf yells for the others to stay back, as their souls would be put in danger if they got in the way.

A struggle between Nightwolf and Noob Saibot ensues, their energies in a state of indescribable flux. Nightwolf thinks that it looks like has no choice and decides to take the chance. He roars and summons the tornado of spiritual energy that completely envelops him and Noob. Minutes later, the tornado explodes and sends Sub-Zero, Scorpion, and Cyrax flying, as well as knocking them out.

Sub-Zero wakes up and looks around, getting Scorpion and Cyrax back to their senses. They look over and see that Nightwolf has disappeared, only his clothes remain. The biggest shock is what he sees next to him. It is Bi-Han, back to human, but still in Noob's shadow garb. He regains his senses and looks around, confused as to where he is. He is shocked to see Kuai Liang, who bursts into tears and hugs him. Liang is so happy to have his brother back, after all these years. Bi-Han doesn't get what's going on, apparently not remembering anything past his murder in _MK1_. He notices the Dragon Medallion on Liang's person, confusing him even further. This is compounded further when he sees Scorpion. Bi-Han almost attacks him, but is held back by Liang and Cyrax. Scorpion asks what's happened to Nightwolf, with Liang saying that it is just as Nightwolf said. He could restore Bi-Han, but it might come at the cost of his soul.

We cut to later that day, where Bi-Han has been caught up on everything that has happened since his murder. Bi-Han is just in disbelief at all that's happened and at how far his dear brother has come. He tells Liang that he has done the Lin Kuei proud, better than he ever could. Bi-Han says that he will join the heroes in the Battle of Armageddon, he cannot let Nightwolf's sacrifice be for nothing. He stands and walks over to Scorpion, the two giving glares at one another. Scorpion says that their murders were both mistakes, Bi-Han replying that it twisted them from who they really were. They both fell to evil and were used by the Forces of Darkness. Scorpion declares that he will make sure that Bi-Han, Kuai Liang, and the Lin Kuei will never be harmed again. Bi-Han appreciated the gesture and says that after this is all over, he will finally make good on his plans to reform from years ago.

If the player defeated Smoke earlier, then an additional scene will play where the three arrive in a lab, where Cyrax is looking over Smoke. If the player had failed to defeat Smoke, then he will escape and remain on the Forces of Darkness.

Cyrax has finally undid the programming that Bi-Han had done on Smoke, back when he was Noob Saibot. Liang is finally glad to have his friend back, happy that he has recovered both of his life-long pals. Smoke is caught up to speed and he joins the heroes for Armageddon. A portal opens up back to Special Forces HQ, which they enter.

If the player defeated Smoke, but not Noob Saibot, then only the former will join the heroes. The above scene would play, but Bi-Han's involvement would obviously be cut.

We see the rest of the heroes recruited and brought back to the Special Forces HQ via a montage. They then spend the next month training together for the upcoming battle. We also get a few actual scenes that take place over the course of their training.

Johnny and Sonya drop off their kids at Jax's house, to be watched over by Vera. We get to properly see Jacqui for the first time, who is around 10 or 11 years old, and learn that this is where Kenshi dropped off Takeda earlier in the story. The kids express their concern about what is going on, but their respective parents comfort them over the issue. Jax shares one last hug with Vera, promising that he will return to her and Jacqui safely.

Liu Kang and Kung Lao return to their Shaolin Temple, to say his goodbyes and to make amends to their monk brethren since this could possibly be the last time they see them. If Jin was recruited, then he will also join Lao and we see the monks apologize to Jin for ostarcizing him. Zhang expresses how he has a bad feeling about all this, but Kang reassures him that they always pull through in the end, they'll be okay. Chen Ying quietly enters, her and Lao embrace. Lao tells Ying that when this is all over, he will finally marry her. Ying replies to Lao that he shouldn't make promises that he might not be able to keep, but Lao just responds with a kiss.

Cetrion and Fujin visit Orderrealm, the latter saying that there are two individuals they can recruit, based on Shujinko's recap on his adventures that he told the heroes back in _Deception_. After a brief run-in with Hotaru, the two eventually locate and free Darrius and Dairou, who were apparently captured by the Seidan guards sometime after _Deception_. The two agree to help the Forces of Light, in exchange for freedom and Fujin also promises that they will help them overthrow Seido's oppressive government.

Kano joins the heroes, because he wants revenge on the Red Dragon and the Deadly Alliance for what they did to him. Right now, his grudge against them is stronger than his one against the heroes. Also, stopping that whole "possible end of all reality" thing is kinda important. Jax and Sonya are reluctant to trust Kano, after what he's done in the past, but Johnny convinces them to accept Kano.

Ermac considers finally revealing himself as Jerrod, but he still has the feeling to hold back. He doesn't want to tell Sindel and Kitana, in case any one of them die during the Battle. Ermac just feels it would be very cruel, to do that. He swears that once the Battle is over, he will finally reveal the truth.

We get a scene that shows how Cetrion, Erasmus, and Fujin have now given up their godhood and immortality to compete in Armageddon.

One day, Taven gets a mysterious psychic signal from Blaze himself. It is time for the final battle. We get a good shot at all of the Forces of Light, which consist of the following (* means their presence is influenced by the player's actions): Ashrah, Bi-Han*, Bo' Rai Cho, Cetrion, Cyrax, Darrius, Dairou, Ermac, Erasmus, Fujin, Jax, Jade, Johnny Cage, Kabal*, Kai, Kano, Kenshi, Kotal Kahn, Kung Jin*, Kung Lao, Liu Chow, Liu Kang, Nightwolf*, Reiko, Scorpion, Sindel, Smoke*, Sonya, Stryker, Sub-Zero, and Taven. A portal is opened to the crater where Armageddon will take place, which the Forces of Light begin entering.

Eventually, Erasmus is seemingly the last one left to enter. Before he does, he notices that Liu Kang is still here, looking rather nervous. Erasmus walks over and asks Liu Kang what's wrong. Kang replies that he suddenly has a strong feeling of anxiety. Not just over the whole mess with Raiden, but he's also been wondering about what Shinnok said. He's unsure if Taven will win and everything will turn out fine, concerned what will happen if things don't go according to plan. Erasmus smiles and tells Kang not to worry, he has a back-up plan. Kang looks puzzled as Erasmus points to something on his tunic. It's a gold and sapphire amulet, with an image of dragon imprinted on the sapphire. Curiously, the amulet has 4 large, noticeable cracks. Erasmus puts his arm around Kang's shoulder, saying that the amulet has an interesting story behind it, but we cut away before he tells it.

Meanwhile, in Shao Kahn's Palace at Outworld, the Forces of Darkness have gathered together. Daegon had just received the signal that Taven got, saying this will be their final fight. Shinnok opens a portal to the crater and we get a shot of all the warriors on the Forces of Darkness (* means same as above). Baraka, Daegon, Daquan, Drahmin, Frost, Goro, Havik, Hotaru, Kabal*, Kira, Kobra, Kung Jin*, Li Han, Mavado*, Mileena, Moloch, Nitara, Noob Saibot*, Onaga, Quan Chi (he was revived by Shinnok), Raiden, Rain, Reptile, Sektor, Smoke*, Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, Shinnok, and Tanya.

We get a line, indicating that Raiden has given up his godhood like in _MK3_, so that he could participate in the Battle of Armageddon. Everyone enters the portal, except Shao Kahn and Onaga. The Dragon King declares that he cannot allow Kahn to compete in this battle, he knows what Kahn has been planning. Shao Kahn retorts that he knows Onaga has been thinking the same thing, the two were both planning to just use Daegon to get close to Blaze and take his power for themselves. Onaga says that only one of them can succeed, so Kahn must die. However, as he advances towards Kahn, Onaga freezes. He clutches at this chest and suddenly experiences spasms of pain. Shao Kahn suddenly laughs and gloats, telling Onaga that he hasn't learned a goddamn thing. At the feast with the heroes earlier, where he served everyone drinks, he gave Onaga a poisoned drink. A stronger, faster-acting, even more undetectable, version of the poison he used to kill Onaga all those years ago. Onaga asks how come he didn't poison the others, why just him? Shao Kahn arrogantly states that he needs the others to clear the way to Blaze and he can reasonably take them on, so that he may claim the prize. Onaga, however, was different. The Dragon King's hatred burns deeply for him, so he knew it was only a matter of time before Onaga betrayed him and their Forces. Kahn recalls that it took Shujinko, empowered by the Forces of Light and Liu Kang's Firebrand powers to take Onaga down. From this, Kahn knew that he wouldn't stand a chance against Onaga in battle. He let Onaga live for a while, so he could help them gather allies and prepare for the battle. Now that it is time for Armageddon, he no longer needs Onaga. Shao Kahn struts through the portal as Onaga collapses, dead.

Suddenly, we zoom out and discover that someone has been watching this through a crystal orb. It is Shinnok, the real Shinnok. All the ones we've been following throughout the story were just dopplegangers. He laughs at Shao Kahn's poisoning at Onaga, saying it is just as the Pool of Prophecies predicted. Shinnok remarks at how he is in the perfect position. Regardless of who wins, Light or Dark, their forces will be critically wounded in the final battle. After which, he'll be ready to step in and finish what remains, steal the prize from the victor, and finally take his rightful spot as the Ruler of All Eternity. He admits that he is gambling on the fact the futures he saw where reality ends will not come to pass, but it's a chance he is willing to take. Shinnok cannot wait to see which outcome of the Battle of Armageddon occurs, laughing as we zoom back on the orb, at Finrae Crater in the Southlands of Edenia, where the fateful battle is said to occur.

**TO BE CONCLUDED IN PART V, THE GRAND FINALE OF THE ORIGINAL TIMELINE**

**(I know I originally said Part IV was the end, but I decided to split up some stuff to avoid the final part being too crammed. Regardless, I hope you guys are looking forward to the conclusion!)**


	21. Wasted Plotential: Armageddon (Part 5)

A large, semiarid desert. Vultures fly across the sky, watching carefully for their next meal. Short shrubbery and sheer plateaus line the land, for miles and miles. The amount of towns and cities here can be counted on two hands.

This what the Southlands of Edenia are like. Compared to the rest of the realm, the Southlands stands out like a sore thumb. Legend has it this was where the center of Edenian civilization was, millions of years ago, until some great catastrophe resulted in its current state. The lack of life and relative emptiness is what made Argus decide this would be where the Battle of Armageddon will take place.

In the very center of the Southlands, is Finare Crater. This large, empty crater, is speculated to have once housed an entire city, based on ancient ruins and writings. Now, it is seemingly empty, only full of rocks and sand.

The quiet day of the vultures are interrupted when two massive portals open, near the south edge of the crater. The Forces of Light emerge from the eastern portal, while the Forces of Darkness emerge from the west.

Taven wanders forward, alone, for quite some time. He soon comes face-to-face with Daegon, who had been doing the same. The two brothers glare at one another, there expressions speaking volumes. They draw their sword and shield, then bellow out a war shout. From seemingly nowhere, their respective forces march from behind. After a brief moment of silence, Taven and Daegon point their swords towards one another. This is the signal, the two armies rush. The Battle of Armageddon has begun.

Li Mei is the first casualty of the final battle, being impaled by Baraka's blades. The rest of the kombatants engage each other, most going after their enemies and rivals. Li Han, Shao Kahn, and Raiden are directed by Daegon to kill Ashrah. Since her sword has the power to pacify the darkness within evil beings, she is a big threat to their side. Ashrah manages to hold up well at first, but she is quickly overwhelmed by the might of the three. Once she is beaten, Raiden kills her with his Lightning Strike fatality. Already, two warriors from the Forces of Light are down.

Drahmin is the first kombatant from the Forces of Darkness to fall, speared in half by Scorpion. Upon witnessing this, Moloch flies into a rage. He charges through the crowd, knocking aside warriors from both sides, as he rushes down at the spectre. Suddenly, Scorpion is backed by Kuai Liang and, if the player saved him, Bi-Han. The three ninjas show some great teamwork as they manage to outwit and overwhelm the oni. Bi-Han creates a Kori Blade and tosses it to Kuai Liang, who jumps up, and slices Moloch's head clean off.

We get a montage of the fight for a bit. Some of the battles we see are Cetrion versus Shinnok, Erasmus versus Raiden, Kabal versus Havik (if he was rescued), Reiko versus Shao Kahn, and much more.

Taven is making his way through the crowd of kombatants trying to find Daegon, the two became separated after their forces clashed. He soon spots Daegon in a swordfight with Kenshi and tries to make his way over to him. Taven almost reaches Daegon, when the ground suddenly starts shaking.

At first, the shaking is very minor. Then it gets violent, very fast. It becomes so strong that many of the kombatants are sent flying, or at the very least are just knocked down over and over. Taven and Daegon wonders what is going on, until the former suddenly remembers the words of Blaze's projection.

All of a sudden, a large structure begins rising out of the ground. Everyone who was too close to the rising structure back away to safety, soon everyone is clumped in one big group. No one is fighting anymore, their eyes are all fixated on the mysterious building.

It is a massive pyramid, roughly 30 stories tall. Stairs on each side lead to a massive top, only broken up by three tiers of flat, stone platforms. On each tier, is a set of stone torches. Although they can't get a perfect view, the top has rows of several pillars, which holds up a roof remincisne of Ancient Greek Temples. Soon, the ground stops shaking and the kombatants are left, awestruck, at the sight of the pyramid.

The monstrous Blaze emerges from the top, standing like a Goliath over the kombatants's David. He roars and shouts, "Face me in Mortal Kombat!" Blaze then stomps back into the temple, disappearing from view.

Nothing happens for a good while. The kombatants just stand there silently, waiting for someone to make the first move. Stryker is the one who breaks the silence, slamming his police baton into Mileena's face, before beginning his run up the pyramid. All hell breaks loose once more, some warriors begin dashing towards the pyramid, while others try to prevent their enemies from making an attempt.

Kung Jin is about to make it to the first tier, when he is hit in the back by a Flying Shard from Baraka. This causes him to lose his footing, stumble backwards, down the stairs, and onto the ground. Baraka jumps down after him, eager to take down the relative of a man he hates dearily. The two fight, with Jin seemingly emerging victorious. He turns away and prepares to make his way back up the pyramid, only for Baraka to suddenly come up and impale him through the stomach. He had feigned losing, to get Jin to lower his guard. He wiggles Jin around with his blade, before tossing him away.

Kung Lao, who was busy fighting Daquan during this, flies into a rage. He punches out Daquan, then makes a mad dash towards Baraka, tackling him into the side of the pyramid. The two enemies fight, Lao showing absolutely no mercy. Once Baraka is defeated, Lao raises his hat and cleanly bisects Baraka, much like he did in _MK3_.

He quickly runs over to Kung Jin. The young monk is coughing up blood, he won't last much longer. Jin tells Lao to take his bow and says that it was an honor fighting alongside his cousin and idol, even if the time they did so was brief. Kung Lao, in tears, tells Jin not to worry. He promises that he will not be dead for long, once this is over, they will bring him back. Jin responds that Lao can't be sure about that and to not think about him, keep his mind on the battle. Jin lets out one final gasp and passes away. Lao, his head down and tears covering his face, picks up Jin's bow and quiver. He begins shooting at the bad guys that are still at the base of the pyramid, nailing shots on Li Han, Mileena, and Havik, killing the latter.

Shinnok notices Lao's cavalier firing and engages him in kombat. He manages to knock Kung Lao to the ground, then quickly traps him in a skeleton hand before Lao can recover. Shinnok then uses the skeleton hand to crush Lao's body, killing him.

Meanwhile, Bi-Han, Kuai Liang, and Scorpion are all engaged in fights near the base of the pyramid. Bi-Han is currently holding his own against Kira and Kobra, Kuai Liang is battling Frost, and Scorpion is fighting Quan Chi. Liang manages to defeat Frost, only to get speared through the head by Hotaru's Naginata. He helps Frost up, only for the two to immediately get assaulted by Bi-Han and Scorpion. Scorpion gets revenge on Hotaru, by spearing his Kunai through his head. Bi-Han manages to put Frost in a hold, then freezes her head solid. He then uppercuts her head, causing it to break into hundreds of pieces. Bi-Han crouches next to Kuai Liang's corpse, saying that his brother died a warrior's death and that his sacrifice will not be in vain. The two ninjas notice Kira, Kobra, and Quan Chi making their way up the stairs and they pursuit.

Speaking of the pyramid, the climb has been rough so far. Not only is it a long ascent, but everyone who is heading up keeps getting into fights with one another. Taven is held up on the first tier by Rain, while Daegon is just about to reach the second. His fight with Rain is interrupted when he is suddenly lifted in the air and tossed off the pyramid, by none other then Ermac. With him, is Sindel. Kitana and Jade are currently still somewhere near the base, fighting Goro. Before he can thank them, Taven is attacked by Tanya. Shao Kahn runs up the stairs and slams Sindel off the pyramid with his war hammer. Enraged, Ermac tackles the Emperor and the two engage in a fist fight after Ermac knocks his hammer away. Taven overcomes Tanya and runs her through with his drakesword, before continuing up the stairs. Ermac isn't so lucky in his fight, getting knocked to the ground and pinned by Shao Kahn. He summons back his hammer and says that Ermac was foolish to abandon him. Ermac responds that it was Shao Kahn that abandoned him, when he went into hiding following _MK3_. For a long time, he was confused and wandered Outworld aimlessly. This ended up being a blessing in the long run, as it led to him encountering Kenshi, who managed to free him from Shao Kahn's iron grip. Shao Kahn makes Ermac an offer, join him once more and he'll spare his life. Ermac refuses to work under him again, so Shao Kahn finishes Ermac by caving his skull in with the war hammer.

Ermac's death causes all of his souls to instantly fly out, freeing all the tortured individuals that have been trapped their for centuries. The sheer rush of souls nearly sends Shao Kahn flying, but he manages to keep his footing. As the souls ascend to the heavens, he notices a familiar one shoot towards the base of the pyramid.

Near the bottom, Sindel has recovered from her fall. As she stands up once more, one of the souls of Ermac floats before her. It is, of course, the spirit of King Jerrod. Sindel is so happy to see her beloved husband that she bursts into tears and hugs Jerrod. He apologizes, revealing himself to have been in Ermac all this time. Jerrod tries to say why he hadn't revealed himself beforehand, but Sindel doesn't care and says that she is just happy to finally see him again. Unfortunately, Jerrod's time in the world of the living is up. He encourages Sindel to continue fighting and states his hope that they will be truly reunited someday, before he disappears. With her spirit rekindled, Sindel runs off to help Kitana and Jade against Goro.

On the second tier, Daegon's ascent has been stopped, due to getting into a fight with Cetrion and Darrius. He is soon joined in the battle by Mavado. Taven is also on the second tier, fighting Nitara. Darrius gets his head sliced in half by Daegon's drakesword. Cetrion manages to hold her own against Daegon and Mavado, but the timely arrival of Quan Chi and Shao Kahn puts an end to that. The two help turn the tide, leading to Cetrion getting stabbed through the face and chest by Daegon and Quan Chi respectively. Daegon turns and notices that Taven has already defeated Nitara, now making his ascent towards the third tier. The four warriors start making their way up the second, long staircase.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Ermac appears. Shao Kahn immediately knows that something's up and stops advancing, yelling out to the others. Only Daegon yields while Mavado, Quan Chi, and Taven continue on. Ermac sends Daegon falling back to the second tier, punches Mavado straight off the pyramid and almost sends Taven flying off the east side of the pyramid, but he manages to grab onto the ledge just in time. Quan Chi runs up and tries to impale Ermac with his swords, only for Ermac to grab him with his telekinetic powers and toss him down. Quan Chi flies into Shao Kahn, sending them both off the pyramid. After hitting the ground, Shao Kahn looks up and sees the Ermac morph back into Shang Tsung, who gloats loudly.

Shao Kahn, seeing that Shang Tsung will not honor their alliance, decides he won't either. He stomps right on Quan Chi's neck, who is still on the ground, and kills him instantly. Kahn is about to climb the pyramid again, but he then takes a good look around. He examines all the kombatants fighting at the ground and on the pyramid, noting that even the good guys are turning against each other. Kahn wonders if this was part of Argus and Delia's plan all along, to turn the kombatants against each other and have them all kill each other. Looking back at the pyramid, Shao Kahn suddenly gets an idea and he runs off screen.

Taven pulls himself back up to the third tier and runs over to fight Shang Tsung. The sorcerer is defending himself from everyone ascending to the third tier. He knocks off fighters like Sektor, Li Han, Erasmus, and Fujin. Liu Chow arrives at the third tier and tries to fight Tsung himself. Shang Tsung manages to easily defend himself against Chow, with just on hand. He grabs Chow and places him in a choke hold, saying that it's fitting that he will suffer the same fate as his brother. He snaps Chow's neck and absorbs his soul, just as Taven reaches him. The two seem ready to battle, until something unexpected happens.

Chains are suddenly wrapped around Shang Tsung's neck. The sorcerer gasps, saying that this cannot be. Taven looks behind Tsung, seeing that the chains are from none other then Liu Kang. The monk tightens the chains on Tsung, making the sorcerer unable to breath. He then tosses Shang Tsung off the pyramid, who lands head first onto the ground, killing him.

A brief moment of silence falls between Taven and Liu Kang. The former asks if Kang is alright, remarking on how this is his first kill. Kang, who seems rather conflicted, says that it's okay. Killing Shang Tsung was for the greater good, it was necessary. The two see souls fly out from the deceased Tsung, including Chow.

Daegon reaches the third tier and quickly brushes past the two. Taven soon follows, yelling to Daegon that he will not defeat Blaze. Liu Kang stays behind, safeguarding the route to the top and knocking the various Forces of Darkness members of the pyramid.

Kitana and Sindel kill Goro, but not before he manages to land a fatal blow against Jade. The two begin heading up the pyramid. As they do, we see various corpses littered near the base, the first tier, and the stairs between the base and first tier, as well as first and second. Sonya is lying on the first tier, dead. Johnny's corpse, decapitated, sits nearby and it looks as if he died while defending Sonya. Stryker is on the first set of stairs, with Mileena's sai stabbed through his face. Mavado has Kenshi's Sendo stabbed through the back and a knife from Kano through his head. On top of him, is Kenshi with Daquan's silver staff running through both him and Mavado. Sektor lies at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the second tier, with both his left arm and right leg missing. Cyrax is laying just on top of the stairs leading up to the second tier, his cause of death unclear. Smoke's head can be seen just ahead, the rest of his body is missing. There are maybe some more, but getting into every single character's death in great detail would drag this out far too long.

Kitana and Sindel have just reached first tier, when the latter stops advancing. She looks back and can't help but think about all the life lost in this battle, both good and evil. Kitana tells Sindel that she understands her thoughts, but they need to focus on the task at hand. Sindel continues looking sad, before silently nodding to her daughter. However, before the two can progress, Kitana is suddenly attacked by magic. Sindel cries out to her daughter, then gasps when she notices the soulless look in Kitana's eyes. Up the stairs behind them, comes Li Han. He is clutching at wound in his side, as he casts his mind control magic on Kitana with his other hand. Li Han, who seems to be a bit deranged and angry, orders Kitana to kill her mother. Sindel tries to get through to Kitana, much like she did in _Deception_, but Li Han gloats that his mind control is much stronger than Onaga's, thanks to Shinnok. Sindel and brainwashed Kitana fight, while Li Han very weakly tries to make his way up the stairs, complaining all the way.

Sindel keeps trying to get through to Kitana, convinced that she did it once, she can do it again regardless of Li Han's words. She ends up dropping her guard, which allows brainwashed Kitana to slash Sindel's torso with her fan. It's a very bad slash as well, Sindel starts losing blood fast. Sindel, aware that she might die from this, quickly rushes Kitana and grabs one of her fans. She stumbles towards Li Han, who is about halfway up the second set of stairs. Sindel grabs him and decapitates Li Han with Kitana's fan. Li Han's headless body falls backwards onto Sindel and the two fall back down to the first tier. Kitana regains her senses, only to see that her mother is now dead. Suddenly, she notices Jerrod's spirit appeared beside her. Sindel's spirit also leaves her body, much to Kitana's shock. The two spirits hug, before disappearing to the Heavens. Before Kitana can think or do anything, she is attacked by Mileena.

Daegon has reached the top tier and has made his way to the center, where Blaze is standing inside a tornado of fire. He boasts about how he is the first to make it to the top of the pyramid, proclaiming that he will finally take his place as the new Protector God of Edenia. Before Daegon can issue a challenge towards Blaze, he is interrupted by Taven shouting "DAEGON!" He turns around and sees Taven, holding his drakesword in his left hand and the magic shield in his right. Daegon laughed boisterously, saying that is finally time for their final battle. He asks Taven if he is going to do one of those last minute, "Let's not fight, there's still good in you etc." speech. Taven sighs and says that he is not gonna waste time with that, it's clear that Daegon is beyond redemption at this point. Daegon draws his sword and shield, telling Taven that he has been waiting the moment for a long, long time. Now, we will see which son of Argus is truly superior.

The two run at each other, their swords clashing. Taven and Daegon sword fight for what seems like forever. The brothers show no mercy, going for killing blow with each strike. The other usually manages to guard or deflect the strikes with their shield. Daegon manages to hit Taven in the left shoulder, but luckily the injury isn't too serious. They fight continue fighting and it seems as though they are still evenly matched, even after the last month they spent training.

The single moment that turns the tide of battle comes, when Daegon begins growing impatient. It doesn't help that Taven, in an effort to get Daegon to lose his wits, starts insulting and taunting him. His swings become more reckless and he swaps out technique for raw power slashes. This eventually leads to him swinging too wide, allowing Taven to make a critical strike. He swoops right in and completely slices off Daegon's right arm. Daegon, naturally, freaks the hell out and falls to his knees, trying desperately to stop the bleeding. He looks up and sees Taven glaring straight at him. Taven tells Daegon that their feud is over, he is going to defeat Blaze and finally put an end to Armageddon. Daegon stumbles on his words, then starts ranting and raving at his brother. Taven just turns and begins walking back towards Blaze. Daegon, flustered and completely enraged, tosses his away his shield and grabs the sword with his left hand. He charges at Daegon, preparing to strike him in the head. Just as he is about to reach him, Taven whips around decapitates Daegon with a single swing. Daegon's body falls to the ground, while his head is sent tumbling down the pyramid stairs.

Taven kneels before the corpse of his brother, performing some sort of Edenian prayer. Despite all that's happened, he still feels sadness for Daegon. Taven says that the two of them were given a raw deal in their destinies, hoping that Daegon will find happiness in the next life. Taven then goes to the center area and examines the tornado of fire. He yells out, "Blaze! Taven, son of Argus, son of Delia, challenges you to Mortal Kombat!" The tornado grows more violent until it blasts a hole through the roof. The monstrous Blaze emerges and roars at Taven, exclaiming that he accepts the challenge. Thus, the final battle begins.

Meanwhile, Liu Kang has been defending the third tier from most anyone who tries climbing to the top. Even some members of the Forces of Light tried to take him on, startling Kang. It eventually reaches the point that everyone still left is either fighting on the lower tiers or on the ground. Kang wonders how Taven is doing, when he notices Daegon's head tumble down the stairs behind him, roll onto the tier, then down the stairs. Reasonably concluding that Taven has bested Daegon, Liu Kang decides to head up top and assist Daegon in defeating Blaze. However, before he can reach the top, he is suddenly blasted back to third tier by a bolt of red lighting.

Raiden stands, towering over Liu Kang. The monk quickly gets back onto his feet and assumes a fighting stance, as Raiden says that he is impressed that Kang has managed to survive so long in this battle, considering his undead state. Kang responds that even in death, he remains a champion warrior. Raiden tells Kang that this is as far as he goes and he does hie Electric Fry attack towards Liu Kang. He manages to dodge it and Raiden crashes into the stairs, but suffers little damage from the impact. Raiden recovers fast enough to block Liu Kang's rush attack and a true fight begins against the two former allies.

Taven is fighting Blaze, finding some difficulty in coming up with a good strategy against the monster. Blaze grabs Taven and tries to crush him in his hands, but Taven's magic armor prevents this. He then tosses Taven into a pillar and shoots a stream of fire at him. Taven manages to draw his magic shield fast enough to block Blaze's fire. Blaze then roars and punches the ground, summoning lava underneath Taven that launches him into the air. He then slams Taven into the ground and prepares to jump straight on him. Taven rolls out of the way, just barely avoiding getting squished. He stands up and strikes Blaze in the knee with his sword, which seems to do some damage. Blaze gets angry and essentially slaps Taven to the ground. Taven recovers and begins deflecting Blaze's strikes with his sword, but soon finds himself quickly losing stamina due to how much energy said deflection is taking against Blaze's powerful blows. Eventually, Blaze knocks Taven's sword out of his hand, which flies straight into and embeds itself in a pillar. Taven tries blocking with his shield, but Blaze just nonchalantly rips it out of his hands and tosses it off the pyramid like a frisbee. All that Taven has right now is his magic armor. He tries to go over to get his sword back, but Blaze is great at cutting him off. Suddenly, Taven remembers that Daegon's sword should still be on the ground near his corpse.

Taven quickly dashes back toward Daegon's corpse, with Blaze pursuing after him. He ducks or dodges the beams of fire that Blaze tries shooting at him. He dodge rolls under one final beam, as he reaches and grabs Daegon's sword. Blaze expects Taven to start attacking again, only to be caught off guard when Taven runs back towards the center. He notices Taven is trying to grab his sword that's stuck in the pillar and tries doing the quake attack again, while also barreling down towards Taven. He is stunned when he sees Taven jump in the air, land his feet on the pillar, pull out his sword, then jump off the pillar. Taven stands before Blaze, wielding both drakeswords.

Possessing both drakeswords helps give Taven a fighting chance. Wielding the two swords allows Taven to put a great amount of pressure against Blaze, who is able to keep up with Taven's strikes and thrusts at first. However, Taven shows no signs of letting up. He is throwing all his stamina and strength into his attacks, hoping that he can finally get Blaze to slip up. Blaze, getting a little annoyed with constantly being on the defense, tries sneaking in a very powerful cross. Taven manages to perform a perfect parry against Blaze's cross, leaving the monster wide open.

Taven rushes forward, before Blaze can react, and thrusts the sword right through Blaze's chest. He then quickly jumps up and stabs Blaze through the head with the other sword. To Taven's surprise, Blaze remains silent for a good minute. Then, the monster starts yelling as orange light shoots out from his body. It seems strange cracks form all over Blaze's body and the ground started rumbling. Taven, seeing this can't be good, quickly dives away as Blaze explodes.

Following the explosion, Taven turns back to see a large tornado of fire where Blaze once stood. He silently examines it, until he suddenly hears Blaze's voice. Blaze congratulates Taven for his victory, he has won Armageddon. He tells Taven to enter the tornado, he'll absorb his power and claim the prize. Taven smiles, glad that this is all over, and begins walking over to the tornado.

Meanwhile, Liu Kang and Raiden's fight has been going on during all this. Raiden attempts to deliver a jump kick at Kang, who just grabs Raiden out of it and tosses him into one of the stone torches. He then runs up and shoots a bunch of fire at Raiden, who then blasts him away with lightning. Kang quickly recovers as Raiden runs up and the two fist fight for a bit, before Raiden grabs and throws Kang into the stairs. Raiden summons a staff and runs forward to strike Liu Kang, but the monk recovers and sweep kicks Raiden. The Thunder God gets back up, only to be hit with a cartwheel uppercut. It's clear from the next few moments of the battle that Liu Kang has Raiden on the ropes. Liu Kang lands his heart break punch on Raiden, who falls to his knees. Kang charges his fist with fire, it seems he is ready to finish him. Raiden shouts at Kang to stop, that his plan is necessary to save Earthrealm forever. Liu Kang just tells Raiden to shut up. Choking on his words, he tells Raiden "Enough of your madness! If you must die...so be it!" Before he can strike however, Blaze's destruction happens as described above. Liu Kang and Raiden's attention are directed towards the top of the pyramid, the former cheering for Taven's victory. Raiden declares he can't let Taven claim the prize and is prepared to run up to the top. Liu Kang is ready to stop him, until something unexpected happens. They hear war cry from the top of the pyramid, followed by a yell that is quickly cut off with a loud squish. Kang wonders what just happened, while Raiden shakes with horror. That war cry...was from Shao Kahn.

Sure enough, we cut back up to the top of the pyramid. On the ground is Taven's corpse, his head evidently smashed in by Shao Kahn's war hammer. The Emperor laughs and enters the tornado himself. We learn what happened to him after he ran offscreen earlier. It's actually pretty simple what Shao Kahn did, he just went up a different side. Don't you remember that the pyramid has more than one side that leads up to the top, yet everyone tried going up the same set of stairs? Shao Kahn snuck off to the opposite side of the pyramid, climbed to the top with no resistance, and hid behind a pillar. Not confident in his chances against Blaze, he decided to wait for someone to come and defeat Blaze for him, then kill the victor before they can claim his prize. After Taven defeated Blaze, he quietly snuck up on him and bashed his head in with his hammer.

Shao Kahn emerges from the tornado, which dissipates away. He is glowing with Blaze's godlike power, laughing madly that after thousands upon thousands of years, Shao Kahn wins. There are still a few warriors still alive, but Kahn is ready to finish them. He begins laughing madly, as he starts charging something up.

Liu Kang and Raiden shutter at the sound of Shao Kahn laughing. They are just dumbfounded at what has happened, when Erasmus runs up to them. He had been busy fighting Shinnok up until now and asks Kang what's going on. Before Kang and Raiden can say anything, Shao Kahn finishes charging and summons a massive wave of fire energy that spreads across the entire crater. We cut and see the reactions of the few people still alive, as they are hit by the wave. The area is enveloped in a bright, orange light.

After the light fades away, we find Raiden laying on the third tier, just barely alive. Raiden looks down and sees that everyone that was still around have been killed by Shao Kahn's attack. He notices Erasmus's corpse and what's left of Liu Kang's zombie body. The two attempted to shield Raiden from the blast, explaining how he survived. Raiden falls to his knees, convinced that everything is over now that Shao Kahn has Blaze's power. Suddenly, Raiden hears a voice.

He looks up to see the spirit of Liu Kang. The monk tells Raiden that he doesn't have much time before he is forced to ascend. Kang urges Raiden to fight Shao Kahn, he is now the only one who can stand up to him. Raiden says there is no way he can defeat Kahn in his current state, also saying that Blaze's power makes him invincible. Liu Kang tells Raiden that he can't give up until the very end. They've come this far, they cannot just surrender. He needs to at least try, he is the only hope for the fate of all reality now. Raiden, after a moment of silence, states that this is all his fault. He was a fool for aligning himself with the Forces of Darkness. Raiden believes it was his actions that lead to Shao Kahn claiming Blaze's prize. He hangs his head low, as Liu Kang tries to think of something to say. Before he can though, Raiden lifts up his head, his eyes suddenly back to their natural blue. Raiden declares that Kang is right, however. It's fault for all this, so it's up to him to fix things. He then apologizes to Liu Kang for everything he has done, asking if he'll forgive him. Kang nods, happy that it seems Raiden might have returned to his old self. Raiden is prepared to head up to face Shao Kahn, until Liu Kang stops him. He points to Erasmus's tunic and tells Raiden to grab the amulet off of him. Raiden does so and asks Kang what's the importance of the amulet. Liu Kang tells Raiden that it was part of Erasmus's contingency plan in case things went poorly, he should take it in case he is unable to defeat Shao Kahn. Raiden wonders what he is supposed to do with it, having never known that Erasmus's amulet contained any sort of power. Kang is starting to fade away, so he quickly explains what Erasmus had told him, but we cut away before we can hear the explanation ourselves.

Meanwhile, at the top, Shao Kahn is just loudly boistering about his ultimate triumph. Nothing can stand in his way now, not even the Elder Gods. His monologue is interrupted by the arrival of Raiden, who suddenly shoots him with a bolt of blue lighting. We can also see that he is now wearing Erasmus's amulet. Though caught off-guard, the lighting still does little to no damage against the Blaze-empowered Shao Kahn. He turns to Raiden and welcomes him, he will be the first person to witness his coronation as the King of All Reality. Raiden declares that as long as he still stands, Shao Kahn will not win. Kahn laughs at Raiden's defiance, he expected that him or Liu Kang would fight him to the bitter end. He welcomes Raiden to try and fight him, but warns that it will be in vain. Raiden declares that he has come this far, he will not give up now, nor will he ever surrender to the likes of him. Shao Kahn laughs again as he summons his war hammer and gets into a fighting stance. Raiden also enters a fighting stance and the two prepare to fight. Music sting and a smash cut to black, ending _Armageddon_.

That's the end of the **Wasted Plotential: Mortal Kombat (Original Timeline)**! Want to know the outcome of Raiden and Shao Kahn's battle? Well, you should probably know what the result is, but you'll have to wait and see when I start covering the Reboot Timeline.

This was very fun to make and I hope this got my point across of how good Mortal Kombat could be, if its story and characters were put to good use. I recognize that my takes may not always be ideal, nor to I say they are perfect. There are certainly things I wish I did differently, but I still think they turned out well. My personal favorite WPs I've written in this series are _MK1_, _MK4_, and _Shaolin Monks_. Be sure to let me know what your favorite rewrites were, as well as any characters and plot elements that you liked how I handled. I love hearing feedback and it will help me for my future stories.

As for when the Reboot Timeline series will come out, it will likely be early to mid September. I'd like to focus on more one-offs and my work for a little while, the former will be easier to get out with my work schedule. I do have two other things, that I may upload sporadically in the lead-up.

The first is "Mortal Kombat Elseworlds." As the name may imply, this would involve What Ifs for the series, using my WPs as a base. Examples of some of the stories include:

\- What if the Mortal Kombat Tournament continued after _MK1_, Liu Kang dominating for Earthrealm like Shang Tsung and Goro did for Outworld?

\- What if Liu Kang accepted Kitana's offer at the end of _MK4_?

\- What if Raiden sent his visions to a different point in time? (There are several different ideas for how this one could go)

\- What if Liu Kang's _Deception_ and/or _Armageddon_ ending was canonical?

\- What if Quan Chi's _Deadly Alliance_ ending was canonical?

\- What if Liu Kang survived _MK9_?

\- What if Kung Lao got to compete in the Mortal Kombat Tournament?

These are just some examples of what might show up. They will usually be one-offs, unless I think there's enough to continue off on. This is also where out of continuity stuff would go, such has crossovers.

The second is tentatively called "Mortal Kombat EU", the EU meaning Expanded Universe. This would mainly contain side stories that take place in between the main events, detailed character bios to flesh out some characters and give backstory to ones that may lack it, and other stuff. There's a lot of areas I could insert those side stories, such as Liu Kang's year-long training journey in between _MK1_ and _MK2_, or the 5 years between _MK4_ and _Deadly Alliance_. Some of these may also cover stuff that was giving a passing mention in the main WPs, such as Johnny and Sonya's wedding or the first war against Shinnok millions of years ago. It would be more of just a fun thing for me to work on in my spare time.

There won't be many uploads in August, but I will make sure to at least get one of each out. It may pick up more once September comes, but we'll have to wait and see.

That's it for this particular WP series. I hope you all enjoyed my version of the series. Thanks to all the positive comments, those really helped by confidence in working on this. Of course, special thanks to the4thsnake for getting me to love this series in the first place. Take care everybody!


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